


a bet

by special_girl



Category: Golden Child (Korea Band), INFINITE (Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Basketball, Comedy, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:01:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 83,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21731920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/special_girl/pseuds/special_girl
Summary: Every bet includes some risk. Who’s going to pay the price this time?
Relationships: Jang Dongwoo/Lee Howon | Hoya, Kim Myungsoo Lee Daeyeol, Kim Myungsoo | L/Lee Sungyeol, Kim Sunggyu/Nam Woohyun, Lee Daeyeol/Lee Jangjun
Comments: 9
Kudos: 19





	1. bring it on

**Author's Note:**

> Myungsoo's cat is a she for the purpose of the story

Raven-haired boy had enough of being treated like dirt. All the unexpected pinches, which made him jump in surprise, and elbows hitting his ribs mercilessly had been upsetting his applecart since the beginning of the match. That’s why the sound of breaktime being announced by the referee felt like a weight off his shoulders.

He endured it all because he’s not the type to fall over and wait for the referee to deal with the problem. But he can’t put up with it anymore. If the others want to play dirty, that’s fine. Come at him, bastards. He’s more than ready to give them a taste of their own medicine! An eye for an eye - he promises himself as he follows one of the opponents with his eyes before he turns around and moves towards his team, who are already gathered around the coach on the side of the court.

Somebody passes him the water bottle and so he takes a small sip before bending down to equal with his teammates to listen in on the last guidance about the remaining time towards the end of the game.

“Come on! There are last few seconds left, don’t let your spirit down!” The coach hits his fist on the open palm. “We have to go with a field goal - 3 points! MyungSoo, you have to do it.”

For a precious second MyungSoo meets the determined gaze of Mr. Park’s. Does he find it burdensome? Hell no. Everybody else would, but not Myungsoo. He’s the king of the hill and everybody knows that. It’s neither the first nor the last time he’s going to save the day. After all, that’s what he’s been born to do.

“One!” The coach snaps fingers in front of the shortest player among them, “…get him the best shooting position!, Three!” he pats the other player’s arm energetically, “…we have to make them think that you’re performing the shot! But you have to keep the distance, okay? Eight or nine meters at most. Four and five - you guard the wings at any cost! Two! As soon as you pass to Youngbaek be ready to get the ball back any second! And remember! If we are to make it, Two has to score from beyond the three-point line!”

The signal inviting the teams back to the court finished up the flow of Mr. Park’s words.

The team shares the last, mute group fighting movement and the open palms fly up before the players trot back to the court.

The pace is fast. But there’s no time to slow down. MyungSoo’s struggling with the utter feeling of helplessness inside of him - not allowing it to flow onto the surface - as he’s pretty trapped among the opposing team defenders.

”Crazy bastard, we won’t let you pass” somebody hisses to his ear.

“This time, you’re focusing on the wrong person” he tries to be as confident as possible while grabbing the ball and passing it forward to _three_ and then he sees the panic in his opponets’ eyes. The tangle of boys leave him to chase after the ball while the timer’s counting down from 8…

MyungSoo takes a few steps to catch up with the peleton a little so that he won’t get too caught behind while trying to catch YoungBaek’s eye and to keep the right distance from the basket.

7…

His heart flips as he sees YoungBaek’s slender arms pushing the ball in his direction

6…

He focuses on the fact that he has to get a perfect running start while he observes the ball in the air

5…

The grainy surface of the ball on his fingertips feels so familiar. It’s the only thing he’s able to feel right now. The ball in his hands and the distance towards the basket. 

Both angry and frightened faces of his opponents couldn’t mean less to him right now.

4….

He’s already up in the air pushing the ball with such force that he cannot ignore the burning sensation in his arms

3…

* * *

A tall, skinny man had done up his black jeans and was reaching out for his black t-shirt pretending that he didn’t know that the other male, who was still in bed, couldn’t take his eyes off him.

“Are you sure, you’re not going to stay?”

“You need to sleep”

“I don’t need to sleep” the other sat up, “we can do it until seven in the morning”

The tall man cracked up while putting on his black sweatshirt. “Can’t do. I have a cat to feed”

“Myungsoo!” the young man whined, “…at least you could come up with a good excuse, you know!”

“I’m being serious! Here, look…” he goes through the photos on his phone and shows a picture of a grey cat to the man in bed. When the other blushes feeling embarrassed that he thought a cat was an excuse, Myungsoo couldn’t stay still and had to squeeze the other tightly. “I’d happily spend the rest of the night in your arms, Dae, but what can I do? I can’t let my cat starve to death… she literally dies a little if she’s not fed every few hours!”

“Shall I drive you home then? And drive us back here after you feed your cat?” Daeyeol smiled sheepishly while showing his perfect, white teeth.

“It’s fine, I will take the bus. Rest well tonight and have lots of positive energy for your patients tomorrow! And let’s meet tomorrow after work, okay?”

He kissed the man in bed, waved at him in a cute manner and left.

But being left alone was the last thing Daeyeol wanted right now. Just like he’s hated it since some time ago.

He turned to the side and buried his face the pillow. It still had a faint smell on it of the man who just left. DaeYeol didn’t know much about MyungSoo but he wanted to fall in love with him. He _had to_ fall in love with him. This time, he thinks that it’s his last chance.

That way, maybe, he will be able to mute down all the thoughts that’d been mugging him whenever he was left alone. That’s also why he works so much – until he’s so frained that he falls asleep as soon as his face touches the pillow.

And here he is, left alone by his lover just now. And the thoughts started bragging in again. It’s funny how he’d never been able to be this close to that one person… The regret and the feeling of losing something irrevocably feels bitter in his mouth.

Because of the longing, he allowed the thoughts to come up to the surface - as soon as he closed his eyes, he saw a smile that used to melt his heart with its warmth. As the time passed, the smile became a little blurred and the thought of it disappearing completely one day makes his heart tremble with pain. On top of that, the thought that he’d never be able to delight his eyes with that perfect face again hurts so much - that’s why he refrains from thinking about it. He shouldn’t fall into depression for the sake of always cheerful mood of the owner of the said smile. He hit the wall with his fist to replace the inner pain with something more real.

* * *

Slouching, SungYeol had pushed the door leading into his apartment before the familiar bustling of the sound of voices and hip-hop beats in the background made their presence making him feel like at home.

His own flat, which he bought with his hard-earned money, turned into a place he wants to go back everyday because his friends will be there ready to make his day when he’s down or play around with him or to mock him until their hearts content; or they’ll just be there simply because they feel comfortable at his place at any hour of the day or night.

He lets his gym bag slide down to the floor. His shoes bounce through the corridor as he kicked the air – an effortless way to take your sneakers off, especially when you don’t tie them after a training because you hurry back home and take the stairs to eleventh floor due to fear of riding elevators alone.

“Any leftovers for me?” he shouted walking through the kitchen which lead to the living-room. He stopped and tilted his head to the side at the lovely (in his eyes) picture of his friends just chilling out in front of a tv game.

“yo yo yo there is no food for you

cause your brother told us not to

buy the shit for you

as we all have to wait through

cause WooHyun has just got his tooth

treated by DaeYeollie~~”

Even though the last line was hit with a perfectly vibrating falsetto, that didn’t make a big impression on anyone as they were all well acquainted with rapping-singing, human-dynamo, Dongwoo.

Dongwoo was made for hip hop. He sang at their graduation, he sang in the hospital when Hoya had his broken finger treated, he rapped a goodbye piece for the boys who went to serve their military duty. Usually, he writes a line for everybody’s birthday; he raps when he shops for groceries, he raps when he poops and SungKyu swears to everybody who wants to listen to him that Dongwoo even rapped while sleeping once.

“Yah, Yah! DongWoo! They’re gonna kick us out of the clan if we lose this one, come on!” Hoya nagged without taking his eyes off the screen, “Hi Yeollie” his eyes fixed on the tv as he spoke.

SungYeol was walking by to unite in pain with Woohyun (or his brother’s casualty as they call him) and got acquainted with crisps which were immediately thrown at him: “SungYeol! Don’t block the view, man!”

He made use of his long legs to quickly get where he was heading to and plunked down on the sofa, “How’s your tooth, man?” his hand patting on the bony knee of the dentist’s casualty.

Woohyun examined the swollen cheek with his hand, “Aye gree”

“He’s hungry” SungKyu translated without looking at Yeol’s confused face. There was no other person in the world who understood WooHyun better in every possible way. Even his very own mother gave up on the mysterious source of grease long time ago.

“Ah, I’m starving, too. What instructions did that punk, Daeyeol, give you, huh? When are you allowed to eat?”

“n uu az at ruu em”

SungYeol furrowed his eyebrows trying to understand the message but he quickly gave up and turned to the _GyuGyu translate_ to find out the translation.

“In two hours, but screw him,” SungKyu grinned. All of them three flashed their teeth in unison.

“Eyy!! There’s no tooth fairy around, and such grins give me creeps, don’t show me your teeth!” SungJong lifted his head up from above an English book titled: _my sass meter is off the charts._

“Don’t show me your teeth but s h o w m e t h e m o n e y~~” DongWoo roared and turned his head to the boys with a grin from ear to ear and at that very moment he got killed in a game. Hoya threw the controller onto rapper’s lap and jumped up ready to put on a show.

“Show me your bbase” he imitated a microphone in his hand as he sang and quickly directed the imaginary mic at the boys on the sofa to finish the verse for him:

“bbase bbase bbase”

Hoya started clapping his hands above his head to teach them boys the rhytm. As soon as everybody was stamping and clapping (and beatboxing when it comes to DongWoo), the imaginary microphone disappeared and the man presented a short, energetic dance as if he was on a dancefloor.

They were in the middle of forgetting about the reality because of their frolics when they had to be brought back to Earth by a latecomer, who was, all the below:

  1. Really late
  2. Really sweaty
  3. Really sorry because….



“Hyungs!”

Daeyeol sprung into the living room as if there was a fire somewhere, “I brought you some food!” he was waving two huge plastic bags full of takeaway treats.

At the cue word (food), everybody jumped at their feet clapping and producing all sort of sounds of celebration. Dancing Hoya was abandoned mid-performance in the blink of an eye.

“Our DaeYeollie is really the best.” One by one they clapped DaeYeol’s back in appreciation as they passd him by towards the feeding place.

“Guys, I’m not staying with you tonight”

“Cool”

“Fine”

“Aha”

Their attention was solely on the food as they were unpacking everything and hunting for the best pieces for themselves so DaeYeol continued, “….you losers”

“Right”

“Okey dokey”

“Hey…! That’s mine!”

Only Sungyeol turned to his younger brother, “Will you come to the match tomorrow? Let’s grab a beer later or something”

“Beer! Ayyye!” Somebody shouted

“Get it from the fridge”

“Pass me some!”

“If DaeYeol’s not gonna stay today, who’s going to drink his one?”

“I’m the oldest” SungKyu struggled to speak with his mouth full of food

“But… I’m the casualty!” Woohyun whined hoping that making them fall into compassion trap would do the trick, but it didn’t.

“Let’s play rock paper scissors! SungYeol, come on! Ah no, you’ve got the match tomorrow”

“Loser”

The boys all cracked up at once before they started the game and Yeol brothers returned to saying their goodbyes:

“DaeYeol-”

“Sungyeol, stop. I know what you want to say. Just stop it. It’s my life, let me live it the way I want to, okay?” the younger brother crumpled the packaging into a ball and threw it straight into the sink. “You want to waste your life playing basketball? Fine. Do it. And I want to have fun, too. That’s my right.”

“I can understand a lot, fine…” Sungyeol lifted his hands up, “…but you could at least leave us some numbers, addresses, I don’t know, NAMES maybe? What if something happens to you?!”

“Has anything happened so far?” That’s it. The look on his brother's face tells him that he won. “Take example from your friends - the boys don’t really care - and am I not like a brother to them, too?”

SungYeol opened his mouth to say something more when SungKyu walked up to them. “Again?” he asked, unamused, and DaeYeol only rolled his eyes and shrugged his arms.

“SungYeol, let him be. A flower boy like him needs to welcome many bees” he imitated a bee and earned a laugh from the boys at the back.

“DaeYeol-ah! DaeYeol-ah” they started chanting gradually louder and louder. SungKyu kept smiling as he started chanting along with the rest.

DaeYeol calmed them down with a gesture of hands (as if he was a respected ruler or a pope blessing the crowd) and announced with a sly smile: “This time - it’s been eight days!”

A joyfull roar echoed around the room.

“You’ve just beaten a record!” SungJong clapped

“Have you already set the wedding date?”

“Where’s my diary? I need to write it down” Hoya danced his way towards his backpack

“Finally, it looks like a long-term relationship” SungKyu hit SungYeol’s back, “You see, Yeolle? You don’t have to worry anymore”

“So, will you introduce us?” DongWoo grinned

“Isn’t it more like – will you introduce them to us?” Sungjong snorted and watch Dongwoo shrug his shoulders completely unphased as he was more than familiar with sassy diva’s comment on a daily basis.

“No, wait” SungYeol raised his finger up to grab the attention “I’ve got a better idea!”

DaeYeol made a scrunched face, “A moment ago you complained about me not giving you any details about my dates and now you suddenly don’t want to meet the person, hello?” he shook his head and rolled his eyes in a way to manifest that he’s so done with his brother.

“Listen! If you hold on to this person until the end of the season, I swear I will never, ever, again fret over your continuous one-night-stands.”

The season lasts from October to April – this year’s season only started a few days ago, which means DaeYeol would have to survive through 7 more months. Seven is almost like an infinite number for him. He’s used to changing partners like almost every week(end) but… what is seven months compared to the whole lifetime? He quickly did the maths and assessed the profit and loss account in his head.

“And! You will _let me let me let me let me_ do everything my way!” DaeYeol reached his hand out waiting for his older brother to shake it as a sign of consent.

“Guys, guys, hold your horses. Don’t you think it’s too much? There will be a third person involved in this! I don’t think they’d like to know they’ve been played one day” Woohyun walked in between the brothers tryig to stop them with his arms stretched.

“Let them be, Woohyun! What can go wrong? The third person is not going to know unless somebody tells them”

“Besides, it’s been a week now so it must be serious”

“Like, how can that even be serious when Dae is going to deceive the person almost from the word go?”

Everybody looked at Dongwoo and the man in question shrugged his shoulders. His face was serious when he went on,”…Lies always come out in the end”

“Dongwoo, but that’s not a lie. How is that a lie if a person has no idea about what’s going on. It’s not that they’ll come here and start randomnly asking questions about the bet!”

“I don’t know, I just think that everybody deserves respect, that’s all”

Sungjong cracked up, “Like the person you were dissing publicly some time ago?”

“Shut up, Jong, why bring it up now?” Hoya snapped and nobody paid attention to it as HoJong throw daggers at each other on a daily basis just to be the best buddies a moment later.

“I’m saying that Dongwoo is not the one to be moralising us all here and what’s really important is that he watches out _not to spill_ the beans by chance” Jong grinned from ear to ear and the rest followed him as they know more than well that being a chatterbox he is, Dongwoo’s spilled out some secrets a few times already.

“Okay, okay! I’ll try to keep my mouth zipped for the sake of the person Daeyeol is going to introduce. But if something happens, that’s your business, I’m out of it”

“Dongwoo….” Everybody’s eyes darted towards Hoya whose pale face was as serious as cancer, “..some people might start off on the wrong foot but then they can work to make it better, can’t they?” he gulped and loosened his collar as he felt the room getting strangely stuffy at the moment.

“It’s not that everything is black or white, but lying is a bad thing”

Hoya gulped again and seeing that, Jong took action, “there are no things that cannot be repaired! Come on, everything is the matter of the mind.” He pointed his index at his temple, “we’re only people, it’s our nature to make mistakes”

Dongwoo laughed, “What’s with all this, suddenly?”

“Is there something we should know?” Sungkyu raisd his brow amused

“if it is, it must definitely be something Dongwoo doesn’t know about” Woohyun followed by mimicking Sungkyu perfectly and earned a playful push from the other, “because otherwise we would already know it!”

“There’s-“ Sungjong started and Hoya got a panic attack:

“Nothing!” he almost shouted, “Nothing, right?”

“That’s what I was going to say!” Sungjong went back at the other even louder, “seriously, why are you guys so oversensitive!”

“Actually, we were hoping that you wanted to inform us that you finally get over Sungyeol”

“Oh guys, come on, we agreed not to talk about it!” Sungyeol threw his hands up and let them fall down freely to hit his thighs heavily. “And you come back to it every fucking day!”

“Because he posts some new pictures everyday”

“Because that’s how fansites work!!!” Jong’s face turned red, “I’ve learned it long time ago that my feelings are purely fan-celebrity like!”

“And let’s stick to that! I’m married to basketball. Now! Enough of this useless talk. There’s something to finish here” he turned to his brother, “are you in or out?”

“As long as you promise not to butt in… _ever again_. It’s a word of honour, you cannot ever go back at it”

“I swear I’ll keep my lips shut. Prepare for shameful defeat” SungYeol squeezed his brother’s hand with a smirk on his face.

“Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, brother!,” he scoffed, “Deal!”

The brothers shook hands and SungKyu, with a mixture of hesitation and concern on his face, cut the handshake with his open palm to make it official.


	2. the last day of them being a group of seven

3…

The opponents, as if in a perfect sync, all shooted up in a desperate attempt to intercept the ball but the tips of their slender fingers only brushed and slip inches from the ball as it was already too high to reach.

2…

Everybody turns their heads towards the basket just to see the ball getting perfectly inside making the net swing energetically.

1…

_And the roar becomes unimaginable._

“It’s there! It’s there! Three points! 109-108 and they won! They won! Player 34, Kim MyungSoo leads the Rascals from DukSoo high school to the national finals! The spectators are going wild!”

MyungSoo feels the crack in his left knee as soon as his foot meets the polished surface of the court.

He falls over.

But the sweet pain cannot be even compared to the one which reflects on his opponents’ faces.

Then his team’s nearly flying (on the wings of joy) towards him and jump on him one by one, his body being buried under the tangled mass. The delight is etched on their faces. The memory becomes etched in their hearts. It’s their year, they know it - they’ve come so far and are ready to reach the top. 

Parents are crying, friends are throwing popcorn out of the boxes in joy, some boys are kicking the air, others run to the cloakroom with eyes full of tears - the gym is literally about to explode with emotions.

The Rascals are up now; the’re already forming a circle and jumping around chanting, _“we’re going to the finals, we’re going to the finals”_ and MyungSoo’s so excited and proud. This win is his doing. Countless hours of trainings finally paid off, indeed. The satisfaction he gets because he managed to take vigilance on the other team makes him want to scream. And the pain in his leg? He’s sure the pain will go away. After all, it can’t be any more serious that a slight strain. Myungsoo screams out of pure joy and squeezes the living dailights out of his teammates.

But the effect of endorphines on his body wears off quickly and gradually the pain becomes difficult to bear with.

And then there are concerned, death-serious faces all around him as he wakes up after the surgery.

And there is the sentence: up to eight months of convalescence.

Which means he won’t play in the finals.

He won’t play in the next year’s school play-offs as well.

* * *

The evening breeze felt refreshing in his damp hair. He did a good job, nobody’s gonna deny that. Today he can indulge himself and tomorrow morning he’ll start the day with his usual morning routine. Being a professional player requires hell lot of discipline and strong will but he’s already used to it. In fact, he’s fond of it. There’s no other life he knows and neither he’s interested in getting acquainted with a different one.

“My people!” he shouted at the group of men standing in a circle whose bodies were curved in strange angles due to excessive laughter. His heart always grows a little whenever he sees them all together. Like a family.

A waterfall of all kinds of Yeols and Yeollies and hands patting his back went down on him. He received it all smiling from ear to ear because he knew he deserved it. Although he’s sure there were a few things he could do better. Either way, he’s grateful for every comment his friends make - be it the praise or ridicule. Yeah. They’re good at pointing out one another’s faults and never miss a chance to mock them. As much as them boys loved joking around, they never spare praise to one another, too.

“Congratulations” DongWoo pranced on him and lifted him up in a hug, “that awesome hard-core juicy dunk man, woohoo!” he laughed like crazy while they gave each other their homie handshake.

SungKyu took off his cap to place it on SungYeol’s head, “Here, don’t catch a cold, man”

“Thanks” SungYeol twisted the cap backwards on his wet hair.

“Awww, so cute, how our SungKyu cares about Yeollie,” WooHyun framed an imaginary shot with his fingers pretending that he’s taking a photo of the very moment.

“Who? Me?” SungKyu pointed a finger at himself, “You know how bitchy this man becomes once he’s ill. I only want to spend my time in peace.”

“Guess what?” Hoya flew in between SungYeol and SungKyu and pulled them both in a hug as they were walking, “You won’t get much peace with us!”

And they all laughed and made so much noise just to play on the oldest’s nerves.

Sungyeol’s got a mini basketball backboard fixed onto his living room wall and they like to play dares with it. Once, Hoya had to perform the around-the-world trick and end it with a kick to the basket and, when he succeeded everybody exploded in excitement like schoolgirls. Hoya had to write it down in his diary and Dongwoo freestyled some lines about it, plus, he didn’t forget to mention it in his next video on youtube, which started a little trend over the Internet as people uploaded videos of themselves trying to perform the very same trick.

This time Sungjong is supposed to score by heading the ball. SungKyu tosses the ball at the skinny boy’s head and the other is about to hit it when a sound of an incoming call makes him lose his focus and he misses the ball almost falling down to the floor. Nobody’s interested in cursing Sungjong because of what’s happening around the ringing mobile:

“Sweetie,” WooHyun reads in an unnatural voice and hands the ringing phone to the owner with utter care as if it was a pink diamond cradled in a the English queen’s crown. Next moment everybody swarmed around DaeYeol hoping to eavesdrop as much on the conversation as possible. Only SungJong shouts from the other part of the room, “It’s all your _sweetie’s_ fault! Let them know I’ll take my revenge one day!” He drinks the punishment drink and grins.

“You hear that baby? I don’t know if I should introduce you to these monsters, they’re already threatening you,” he shuts his eyes and opens his mouth in a mute scream as he gets punched in the side by one of the beastly, as he just described them, hyungs.

“I’ll make it through,” they hear on the other end, “just to be around you. I’m already missing you!”

And then the unavoidable happens as all them boys holler out in excitement grinning like crazy and clapping their hands at the comment. DongWoo’s bouncing in joy before he fell on the floor laughing and Hoya’s biting his fist. Even SungKyu couldn’t keep a straight face at a sudden cheesiness.

“Thanks, and…” he checked if the boys went on snooping or maybe they focused back on the game – as soon as they noticed Daeyeol catching them red-handed on evasdropping they pretended not to care about the phonecall and Sungkyu started whistling out of the blue and Woohyun went swinging from side to side along to the tune as if Sungkyu’s whistling was _the wow_ from last year; Dongwoo pretended that he fell asleep on the floor, Hoya and Sungjong started doing squats and Sungyeol, with eyes like saucers, was only able to come up with covering his ears with his hands. Daeyeol snorted and lowered his voice before answering, “I miss you, too”

The rest of the boys having obviously heard everything dashed to the kitchen to crack up there like there’s no tomorrow.

When, after finifhsing the conversation, Daeyeol followed them to the kitchen and asked what was so funny, they only laughed some more making him go red in the face, “I hate you”

“Oh really? And we love you”

“Hey! Hey! Speak for yourself Sungkyu! I don’t love this….this serious person!”

“How can you not love him, Sungyeol? He’s almost like… a mini-version of you”

“You think I’m no fun?”

“I didn’t say that!”

“But you thought that!”

“How would you know what I think?”

“Because I’ve known you for too long!”

SungKyu opened his mouth and closed it right after as no witty response crossed his mind. He only dropped his shoulders and murmured, “If you’re no fun then I’m no fun either as we stick together and birds of a feather flock together.”

“Don’t Worry, Sungkyu,” Woohyun came right by to pat the oldest, “for me you’re both funny.”

“You don’t need to suck up to me,” he pretended that he’s disgusted and tried pushing the other away, “I have no plans of going for a date with you any time soon.”

“Maybe Sungyeol would’ve read the answer in Sungkyu’s eyes… if they weren’t so smol” no sooner had Jong said it, he fled away being chased by the oldest whose thirst for revenge went beyond the scale. He hated it when the others made fun of his tiny eyes – a fact everybody was well acquainted with and tend to overuse it. 

The rest of the boys followed the chasing two back into the living room and Dongwoo felt inspiration coming down on him like the spring rain ;) and so he began freestyling to the music of hallelujah song:

_And there it was, the sweetie called,_

_And we all heard what he had told_

_That he can’t rest without our DaeYeollie~~_

(he pointed his finger at DaeYeol) _That little brat he called us beasts!_

_I had to punch him with my fist!_

_Just let us meet your sweetie! hallelujah!_

And since they often freestyled to the song, everybody knew when to sing along while swinging from side to side:

_Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah~~_

This time, nobody continued the song so DaeYeol, after throwing his body into the armchair and nestling comfortably, promised: “Fine, I’ll bring him tomorrow.”

“Sungjong, you hear that? You better wash yourself properly, we’re going to have a guest tomorrow,” Hoya grinned.

“Pffff I’m fresher than you! At least I can afford a bar of soap with my tutoring job, unlike you.”

“Uoooooh SungJongie that was tough!” SungKyu, who was sitting next to the younger, grabbed his neck from behind and shook it playfully with a triumphant smile on his face that he managed to get back at the younger.

“I will make it big one day and then make you eat a frigging bar of soap! You better start practising now.” After making the rest bust a gut at his comment, Hoya went on: “I shouldn’t be saying this in order not to jinx it but…”

“What?”

“What?”

“You have to tell us now!”

“Come on!”

Hoya bit his knuckles before he finished “I’ve been practising with the last year’s competition winners, only as a substitute though, because their coach twisted his ankle but we really get on well and I think they’re satisfied” he nodded his head and ginned.

“Wow! You didn’t tell us before!” Dongwoo opened both his mouth and his eyes wide

“Has anybody got a bar of soap for Sungjong to practice with?” WooHyun cracked up and raised his glass to make a toast for Hoya’s small success.

“Yeah, you should probably water it first before swallowing so that it goes down better” SungYeol was in heaven, “I already can’t wait”

“Even you? Against me? Seriously what am I even doing here” Sungjong crossed his arms.

“I’ve always thought you must be an SM person” DaeYeol snorted

“You guys this is going nowhere. Since it’s still bearable outside, let’s go and play some throws to take some fresh air” DongWoo got up and waited for the rest to accept his proposal.

“Let’s quickly drink up the leftovers and go go go go!” WooHyun filled everybody’s glasses and they drank bottoms up before leaving the apartment.

Since there was a football court right next to the block of flats where Sungyeol’s flat was situated, they were used to spending evenings there. Boys were fond of challenging one another to fancy throws and they could spend hours playing the game.

While SungKyu and Dongwoo were waiting penalty minutes at the bench by the concrete court they were talking the bet over again as it was a hot issue, indeed.

“...but he’s the older brother, I think I understand him. Sooner or later people are gonna put labels on DaeYeol… and, let’s face it, SungYeol is a public person. I mean, don’t get me wrong, SungYeol would never try to moralise Daeyeol because of the fact that the latter might become a threat to his career or something. He’s just genuinely worried about his brother…” SungKyu sighed, “… it’s somewhat unhealthy and hazardous to live a life like he does or… used to”

“Yeah, but what can we do? I can already hear Daeyeol arguing that we’re jealous losers -” he giggled, “but seriously, it’s a given that somebody’s gonna get hurt because of the bet” he drew invisible circles with his leg on the concrete ground.

“Let’s hope that maybe something good will come out of it as well. Who knows, maybe Dae will finally come to his senses”

“And get married” both looked at each other with beaming faces and chanted together:

“Impossible!”

Suddenly, a ball bounced in front of their heads and they both got up faster than a lighting.

“Who did it?!” Dongwoo played badass

“Try this again and you’re dead meat!” Sunggyu followed the other right after.

“I did it! I” Woohyun acted tough, “What? You’ve got a problem?”

Dongwoo cracked up, “Yeah! I’ve got it right here!” He bounced a few times supporting himself on Sungkyu’s back and pointing at the man in question, “Jealous, already?”

“Nah” Woohyun waved his hand and made everybody dead in their trucks. How come he says no? Woohyun has been chasing Sungkyu for years now, what would have made him change his mind? Boys looked at one another with raised eyebrows and pouted mouths. Some of them shrugged their shoulders, others scratched their heads – it’s impossible to lose interest in somebody after so many years just like that, is it? Before anyone could react properly, Woohyun finished, “…he’s already mine forever.”

“Hey! Woohyun! I’m not yours, okay?” Sungkyu shouted back feeling that he’s getting red in the face.

“Yet” Woohyun murmured under his nose so that only the ones who were near him heard it. The smirk on his face came across as proud but deep in his heart, Woohyun started doubting that his wish could ever be granted.

Dongwoo laughed out loud and run towards the rest leaving SungKyu behind.

“What? What did he say? Whatever he says, it’s not true!” the oldest hated being the object of ridicule, but, unfortunately, making fun of him was boys’ favourite thing to do.

*

“I don’t understand why Daeyeol isn’t fond of you, muffin” Myungsoo dried his hands and picked up the cat that was nuzzling into his ankle. He smiles when the cat rests its paw against his chin, “but I like him and I hope this doesn’t mean that you have something against him! And he’s introducing me to his friends tomorrow, I guess I should pick the right outfit, shouldn’t I? Did I tell you his brother plays basketball? What a coincidence, don’t you think? Everywhere I go there’s basketball… It’s haunting me.” He sighed and shook his head to get rid of the memory of that very day on the court. It’s been ages but everything’s so vivid as if it happened yesterday.

He’s tired of the feeling of regret in his chest, because it seems irrational. There’s nothing more he could do about it – he underwent a surgery and received counselling from various specialists; he even took up university believeing that he was able to help himself somehow but to no avail. It’s an accident, how would he know that he’d injure his knee because of a single jump – something he did countless times everyday.

And is it his fault that he can’t find joy in any other thing in lfe? A confident smirk creeps onto his face as he things about _one thing_ _he actually savours_ ; and, luckily, Daeyeol’s good at it too.


	3. "Introducing The Candy"

Sungyeol hated his parents for sending him on a sports camp. They still didn’t get it! He’s not interested in sports! He only has his eyes on basketball. He doesn’t like rowing, climbing, gymnastics or stupid paper chase. For god’s sake he is _almost_ _twelve_ already, why do they insist on treating him like a kid?

Well, at least there’s one good thing about the camp – there will be no DaeYeol following him everywhere and asking him dillion stupid questions a minute: _big brother, why is head on top and legs on the bottom? Do you think a bull can beat a cow in a fight? What if parents called you Tarzan instead of Sungyeol?_

Sungyeol sighed and massaged his temples.

Sungkyu hated his parents for sending him on a sports camp. They still didn’t get it! He’s not interested in sports! He has no intention of becoming an athlete or something! He wishes they would leave him alone. For god’s sake he is _fourteen_ already, why do they insist on treating him like a kid?

_I’m not going to take part in the activities, they can’t make me. I’ll just sit and watch how the rest makes idiots out of themselves._

He sighed and crossed his arms. 

“Good morning, group! My name is Lee JungYeop and I’ll be taking care of you for the next ten days! Now! You know me, but I don’t know you, guys! And do you know one another?”

SungYeoll rolled his eyes, the guy was trying too hard to make his voice sound cute, yuck.

“I have a bucket here, and there are pictures in the bucket! Each picture presents a pig and each is cut in half! Now, everybody take one piece and look around for the other half! When you finally find the matching piece, try and get to know the owner of it a little! Yay? Let’s go go go!”

When it was his turn, Sungyeol reached into the bucket unamused. He retrieved a piece of paper with a pig’s butt in it and thought it’s going to be the longest ten days in his life.

After a moment, when almost everybody found their pairs, only Sungyeol and the other boy were left standing in the opposite sides of the field where their meeting was being held.

“What’s the matter, you two? Don’t your pictures match?” He encouraged them to come with a certain movement of his index finger, first to the boy on the left, then, to the boy on the right.

“They do match, you see? Now, ask each other some questions to get to know them better, okay?”

While the guardian was leaving, SungYeol hear the other boy murmur under his nose:

“What kind of kindergarten is it?”

“Retarded,” he replied while looking at the Guardian’s back.

The boy next to him chuckled, “And the guardian doesn’t seem mentally stable, either,”

“He must have just left the mental hospital,”

“If I were him, I’d stay there for my own good! Look at all these dorks looking all excited,”

“Seriously! Are we the only ones who are normal in here?”

“Kim Sungkyu,” the other boy stretched out his hand waiting for the other to grab it, which he happily did.

“Lee Sungyeol,”

Little did they know back then that it was a handshake which opened the door to the life-long friendship.

***

At 8 in the morning, when SungYeol was back from his jogging (it’s either jogging or swimming from Monday to Saturday) he found DongWoo filling up glasses with a freshly squeezed juice.

“Hi honey,” Sungyeol reached out for a drink. His remark made DongWoo laugh and almost spill the contents of the glass.

“Give me a kiss then,” DongWoo danced his way up to the other with his lips pouted ready for a peck. He laughed some more when Sungyeol pushed him back with a disgusted face.

“Okay, you win, I’m not gonna call you that again! Bottoms up,” Sungyeol lifted up a glass in a way saying ‘cheers’ and they both drank the juice in one go. “Thanks for the juice. Why are you up, by the way?”

“I have to do a bit of editing if I want to be on time to meet DaeYeol’s friend later today, you know… besides, if I leave early, I’ll escape all the cleaning up. Really, how can we leave such a mess around?” he cracked up again making SungYeol grin.

“I can give you a lift on my way to the gym, just let me grab something to eat first.” He tucked his head into the fridge, “I feel like having an omelette with peanut butter, do you fancy some?”

“Yuck! I guess I’ll pass this time”

“You sure? Because I’m not going to share with you later once it’s done,”

“Positive, no worries,” he grabbed his phone and went online to check if there aren’t any new comments on his yt account.

“Here”

Sungyeol places a plate in front of his friend who got carried away into the online world making him flinch and rest his hand on his chest, “Oh god!” He then looks at the plate in front of him and grabs an egg toast, all beaming, “Thanks”

“Don’t mention it. Just eat it up before the boys wake up”

“What’s the smell?” Woohyun was already walking down the stairs and stretching.

“It’s you. After drinking last night,” Sungyeol grinned and had a mouthful of his breakfast quickly before it’s taken away from him.

“Very funny! What are you eating?” he took a curious peak onto Sungyeol’s plate and moved away as if he touched something red-hot, “Eww!” He turned to Dongwoo and opened his mouth asking the other to feed him with the toast, which Dongwoo did, giggling.

“Why didn’t you wake me up for breakfast?” he asked, rubbing his belly and chest under the t-shirt.

“We don’t have time,” Sungyeol was already putting his plate into the dishwasher, “but I’m sure Sungkyu would appreciate it if you made him some breakfast”

“Did he say anything to you?” in an instant, Woohyun materialised right next to the tallest and examined him through squinted eyes

“He didn’t. But even if he did, I wouldn’t tell you. I’m not a blabber, as opposed to that guy,” he pointed his thumb at Dongwoo and the man in question laughed:

“What can I do?”

“Do I smell a toast?” this time, Sungjong appeared on the stairs.

“These bastards decided to eat alone!” Woohyun whined to the youngest

“Monsters!” Sungjong yawned.

“We love you, too. See you later!” Sungyeol grabbed his gym bag and, with a gesture of his head, invited Dongwoo to go with him.

“Bye guys!”

“Are you leaving, too?”

“Yeah, but look forward to my new video!”

“I guess I’ll go back to sleep,” Sungjong yawned again watching the door behind the two friends close.

“Sure. Go ahead. Leave me with all the cleaning and making breakfast stuff,” Woohyun showed the younger two thumbs up and watch the other walk upstairs, “the youth these days,” he shook his head and rolled up the imaginary sleeves of his T-shirt before getting down to work.

A moment later in a car:

“DongWoo! I totally forgot! How’s your favourite subscriber, hm?”

“Ah... we talked about you recently! It’s strange how he seemed to know you so well… Fans these days are no joke, really. It’s as if there was a special training center for stalkers!” He giggled, “But I was also a bit busy and there’s your match yesterday, I totally didn’t have time to talk to him”

“You’ve never said that the person is also a fan of mine???”

“What I meant was that he’s my fan who got to know that we hang out together and then I realised he knows much about you, too.” Dongwoo wasn’t sure himself if what he just said made sense. But the rest of the boys already got used to his uncontrollable stream of words.

“Ah, I see. He seems to be a die-hard fan, indeed. Should we start worrying about you? Have you finally received his picture? I’m so curious… like… we all are!”

“Still nothing…” DongWoo sighed, “…he probably looks like Bad Luck Brian so he doesn’t want to show his face...” the thought made him laugh. DongWoo sometimes laughs in the middle of crying. He laughs all the time. But this remark made SungYeol giggle, too.

“What if DaeYeol brings Bad Luck Brian today?” SungYeol felt tears of laughter forming into his eyes. DongWoo was having the time of his _laugh_ err life, laughing his head off in the seat next to him.

“I’m telling Hoya, he has to hear that!”

“Hey I’m starting to think I won’t make it today for the meeting so as not to laugh the poor thing in the face as soon I see him. He’s forever Bad Luck Brian from now on, even before we’ve seen him”

KakaoTalk KINGS chatroom

Kenya: Yo guys! Wake up! Brace yourselves! DaeYeol’s bringing Bad Luck Brian later today!

Namstar: The one who escaped a burning building and was hit by a firetruck?

Hojack: No! The one who went to the cinema for Titanic 3D and drowned!

JJong: hahaha Hoya 1: 0 WooHyun

SungFu: I wonder if all the bad luck goes onto DaeYeol kkk

WinnieThePooh: So, does this mean that I’m not your object of fun anymore?:((

Namstar: Why hadn’t we come up with bad luck brian for Sungkyu earlier

JJong: XD

Kenya: Cuz he wasn’t Dae’s boyfriend

Namstar: ah, so bad luck brian is booked for Daeyeol’s partners only? Kkk

Namstar: But seeing how Dae treats his partners, all of them should be BLBs!

WinnieThePooh: How to go through the meeting with dignity and a straight face later

Dae-bak: I WILL TAKE OUT YOUR TEETH WITHOUT LOCAL ANESTHETIC BYE

Namstar: What Bad Luck Brian? Who came up with this one? (angry dog emoji)

WinnieThePooh: come out bastard! Meet my fist!!

Kenya: kyakyakyakyakyakya

Namstar: (angry dog emoji)

SungFu: who’s buying the food tonight?

WinnieThePooh: It’s on me!

Namstar: What are you gonna get us, Pooh? Jars of honey?

_WinnieThePooh changed his nickname into SugarDaddy_

Later that day.

“Why am I so anxious?” as usual, DongWoo spoke his mind out of the blue.

“We haven’t brought anyone into our pack for ages,” Hoya had his eyes glued onto his telephone screen as he was attempting to beat his own score in _dance dance revolution_.

“Says the one who entered the group last,” SungKyu mocked. He moved closer to watch Hoya play.

“But it all ends today,” Hoya answered matter-of-factly, “fresh blood is coming, I can smell it!”

“What if the bad luck brian doesn’t fit the group?” SungJong wanted to keep the conversation going. To be honest he was feeling uneasy, too. Bringing back the BLB made SungKyu and DongWoo laugh out loud, the rest boys grinned at SungKyu’s sudden outburst (SungKyu always tried to look serious as the elder of the group).

“Your eyes get so small when you laugh”

“Your eyes will get smaller when I punch them, WooHyun!” SungKyu lifted his fist up, “do you want to pick up a fight?”

The bickering had to be stopped due to the sound of the door being unlocked with a code. All the boys jumped up, as if on a command, and lined up in the living room waiting for guests to come out any moment now.

When SungYeol passed the kitchen, first he was shocked but then, almost immediately he bursted out laughing at the sight of his friends, and their awkward faces.

“Daaamn Sungyeol!”

SungYeol dodged a cushion flying at him

“You told us you were going to be late, man!”

“DongWoo almost shitted his pants!”

“H-How did you know?!” DongWoo started laughing

SungYeol was about to open his mouth when the melody of the unlocked door indicated that, this time for sure, DaeYeol and his guest have entered the apartment.

The tall man quickly ran towards his friends and barely managed to stand in line with them when Daeyeol’s beaming face appeared from behind the corner. He was pulling his boyfriend by the hand behind him.

“Guys, this is Kim Myungsoo…”

To everybody’s surprise, MyungSoo had nothing to do with the Bad Luck Brian’s looks.

Only now did they realise what made DaeYeol keep the relationship going (except for the part with the bet, of course) as Kim MyungSoo was…

“…a walking miracle” Daeyeol finished introducing his boyfriend and at the same time making the other chuckle at the discomforting public flatter.

“Hello, everyone, I’m Kim MyungSoo”

His voice sounded deep and cool, too.

There’s this awkward silence after the vice echoed around the place.

The boys looked as if they were frozen. Only blinking of their eyes from time to time indicated that they weren’t a bunch of wax figures.

“Guys, what’s wrong with your faces?” DaeYeol snorted at the sight of six men with all kinds of grimaces on their faces. A moment ago they were holding their breaths, feeling anxious what the first impression would be like and they prayed not to laugh straight at the guest’s face…

…and there they were now, unnaturally speechless.

“Hey, hey, shall we walk in again?” DaeYeol found his friends hilarious; he was taking mental pictures of them and praying to save them in his mind.

SungKyu was the first one to get over MyungSoo’ charm and he started secretly poking his thumb into SungYeol’s back to make the other realise that it’s his apartment and he should welcome the guest properly.

A loud, unnaturally high shriek escaped Sugyeol’s mouth which made MyungSoo chuckle and the rest climbed back from the abyss of surprise. WooHyun ran towards the guest and introduced himself first. Next moment, Hoya was next to the three boys, too, grabbing MyungSoo by the hand and pulling him towards the armchair to make him sit there. SungJong introduced himself while opening a can of beer and pushing it into the guest’s hands. The youngest one gave way to DongWoo, the sight of whom made MyungSoo get up from the armchair and place his hand on his throat:

“V-v-virus!? Oh my god!” he then covered his mouth and started looking around, “is there a hidden camera or something? Whoa, I’m a fan!” he grabbed DongWoo’s hands and shook them energetically before bowing slightly. Two dimples kept his smile company and his eyes were full of sparks right now.

DongWoo could only laugh at the situation although he was used to people’s strangest reactions when meeting him in person.

“He’s our positive virus,” Hoya added, “but our SungYeollie hasn’t introduced himself yet, maybe we should make him some space,” he was trying to unglue DongWoo and MyungSoo’s hands off each other.

SungYeol was making his way towards the guest who, with his eyes fixed on one of his _idiots_ …I mean, idols, was being pushed away from DongWoo by Hoya. MyungSoo turned his head reluctantly and grabbed SungYeol’s stretched hand. Both of them hissed in surprise at the static electric shock that run over their fingers at the touch.

“What happened?” DaeYeol jumped at them. He observed SungYeol massaging his hand and MyungSoo shaking his one to get rid of the unpleasant feeling.

“Electric shock,” SungYeol smiled, “I’m sorry”

“As expected from Seoul Thunders, even your touch is electric”

The witty comment earned an awe from the boys, who, in a matter of seconds took chuckling MyungSoo away towards the sofa. Seems like they took an instant liking to him.

Soon, they were chatting and joking and bursting out laughing as per usual.

“…maybe MyungSoo is your secret stalker!” WooHyun was about to point his finger at Myungsoo but the man in question wasn’t there so WooHyun was pointing his finger in different directions confused while he was looking for the newcomer, “W-Where’s MyungSoo?”

The boys looked at the sofa to see DaeYeol playing with his phone. At the sudden silence in the room DaeYeol lifted his head up to check what’s going on – he was wary of silence - it’s not once or twice that boys played a nasty trick on him because he let his guard down.

“What?” he asked.

“Where’s MyungSoo?”

Only now Daeyeol noticed that his boyfriend wasn’t with them. He got up and looked around the room. “And Sungyeol?” he added and the rest shrugged their shoulders.

“Let’s turn on the chaser mode fellows! Follow me!” WooHyun walked towards the kitchen with his hand stretched up and his index finger ready to point at any place where the two missing ones are.

In the Meantime, on the kitchen floor, behind the counter…

…no, it’s not what you think, perverts, we’ll come to that later.

“…just look at the stats, man! As the point guard he made six thousand assists! Doesn’t that blow your mind?!”

“It’s not his task to pass, you know”

“He’s one hell of a scorer! And please, stop pretending that you don’t know what my point is -just how many assists do _you_ have?” MyungSoo crossed his arms knowing that he won the argument.

“It’s not my job to pass!” Sungyeol murmurs under his nose and shrugs his shoulders.

“Isn’t basketball a team sport? What if you miss because there’s somebody on a better position to whom you could pass?”

“I don’t miss,” Sungyeol grinned, “besides, his speed left a great deal to be desired”

“Stop beating around the bush and just admit that he’s the legend!”

Sungyeol cracked up, “I’ll admit that he was a showman, okay?”

“That’s not the point here. Neither is his speed. It’s the flame you could literally see in his eyes. He purely loved it and manifested it not only in the court. And, of course, he showed it on that fatal day when he tore his Achilles tendon – he left the floor for tiebreak and came back to the three point line without allowing anyone to help him. That’s the fighting spirit one doesn’t see often.”

“Are you my coach’s relative or something?” Sungyeol grinned, “He always mentions the fighting spirit, too”

“I doubt he directs his words at you, though” Myungsoo might have been out of the business and might have not been following everything that happened in the professional league because watching others play still hurts, but he did his homework and knows Sungyeol’s style a little.

Sungyeol, on the other hand felt his cheeks burning at the complement. He’s used to people praising him and he rarely hears any words of advice what he could've done better so he’s relatively confident about what he does, but this time, a man he barely got to know is indirectly complimenting him saying that he shares the same trait with an international basketball star. A trait that the other seems to value most, on top of that.

It was one of these rare moments when he was short for words and so Myungsoo continued:

“But his injury got the best of him… you never know what the fate has in store for you”

“If you ask me, I’ll proudly accept whatever. In the end, there are things we have no control over so accepting the reality is all we can eventually do. It’s either you accept it or turn sour for years.”

“Well, you can also try to change things you know…”

“You mean looking for positive aspects? As in an every-cloud-has-a-silver-lining thing?” Sungyeol tapped the screen to unlock it as it had turned black a moment ago.

Myungsoo caught himself trying to remember if he’s been looking for positive things in his life or he has given up? He deemed he was closer to the latter. “I guess so. But it’s not that simple, you know? Not everything can be fixed… There are some things one can’t accept no matter how much he tries”

“Then they don’t try well enough! I believe everything’s here,” Sungyeol pointed at his temple, “sometimes we just need to let go of what we’re used to… we should move on and leave the past behind… just like Bryant did, you know”

“And how do you know that?” Myungsoo crossed his arms and smiled and watch Sungyeol smile back at him and opening twitter on his phone.

“Legacy and the queen? The punnies? Does that ring a bell?” he grinned, “He didn’t become depressed but instead he turned his inner sparkle, as you noticed it earlier, into motivating the youth”

“I do know that since I’m a fan, but how do you…?”

Sungyeol shrugged his arms, “I like people with passion, too. He even follows me back”

“No way!”

Myungsoo snatched the phone from Sungyeol to see it with his own eyes, “wow!” he watched Sungyeol chuckle and felt he becomes red in the face, “I’m sorry” he handed the phone back to the owner.

“That’s okay, don’t worry about it”

Meanwhile, the group of self-appointed detectives tiptoed into the kitchen to witness the two men sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Oh there you are!”

“What are you watching?” SungJong squatted in front of the screen and tsked, “Ah, twitter! Were you showing Myungsoo my pics?”

“Nah” Sungyeol smiled apologetically.

“What pictures?” Myungsoo asked looking from Sungyeol to Sungjong.

“Sungjong runs a fansite dedicated to Sungyeol,” Hoya explained.

“Really?” Myungsoo laughed covering his mouth.

“Nobody ask him though...”

“It’s a long story...”

All the boys moaned in unison. SungKyu rolled his eyes and DongWoo’s shoulders dropped down tiredly so as WooHyun’s arm did.

“Who’s playing guitar hero?” Hoya asked and everybody followed.

DaeYeol grabbed MyungSoo’s hand and helped him get up, then he brushed the imaginary dust off his boyfriend’s clothes and they both walked away to the living room leaving SungYeol stuck on the floor with his hand lifted up waiting for help to get up, too. He blinks his eyes a few times while trying to get a grip of what has just happened before he roars:

“Hey!!!! What about me?!”

He heard DaeYeol murmuring something unclear and the next moment MyungSoo ran into the kitchen to help SungYeol get up.

“I’m sorry for DaeYeol, what is he to treat his older brother that way”

SungYeol wasn’t able to say a word as he was impressed by MyungSoo’s manners.

“What’s with Sungjong running a fansite by the way?” he asked politely partly to keep the conversation going but most importantly because he got curious about it and boys’ reaction when it was mentioned up.

“Ah… Maybe he’ll tell you one day”

***

“How did you like the boys?”

“I had a great time, really. They seem fun!”

“And my brother? Didn’t you spend some time with him there behind the counter?” Dayeol wiggled his eyebrows, “I didn’t know you are _this_ naughty… and Sungyeol? How could he do such a thing to his own brother?” he grabbed his chest and pretend to be hurt making Myungsoo chuckle:

“We didn’t do anything inappropriate there! Besides, of all people, I wouldn’t be able to do it with somebody like him – he’s so full of himself! How can anyone think of themselves so highly?”

Daeyeol howled, “Sungyeol!? Since he’s my brother, I hate him obviously, but there’s one thing I can tell about him for sure – he’s always both hospitable and reliable - he’d do anything for his friends. What made you think he’s overconfident?”

“We talked about basketball and he said he never misses and stuff…”

“But that’s a fact, isn’t it? Those who follow what’s going on in the KBL know it. Besides, he spends so much time practicing that it’s a given he hardly ever misses”

“Well…”

“If I have lots of content patients and say I’m a good dentist, does that mean I’m full of myself? Come on.”

“Okay, okay give me a break already, maybe I was wrong. I told you he _seemed_ so full of himself not that he _is_ full of himself.”

“And you didn’t tell me you were a fan of Dongwoo”

“We didn’t have time to talk about it, you know,” Myungsoo grinned at the other who grinned back and they started giggling the reason they didn’t have time to talk being too obvious for both of them, “I’d happily invite you over, you know but bear in mind that the cat’s on the loose”

“I know, I’m allergic to cats, so I’d probably pass. But I’d be more than happy if you came over to my place”

“Only if we stop by at my place so that I can feed the catto”

“Deal!” Daeyeol answered faster than the lightning which made Myungsoo laugh cutely:

“Idiot”


	4. kakaotalk frenzy

The paramedics and physiotherapists of the club which MyungSoo’s promised to play after graduation were examining him throughout the whole convalescence process and eventually the club ceased the contract as the severe injury would, most likely, renew over and over preventing the boy from playing, which, in turn, would bring financial losses to the club.

For MyungSoo, it was the end of the world. He felt as if he didn’t know how to do anything else apart from playing basketball. At school, he used to be good at maths but after his injury and the constant depression at that time, he slacked up at everything he did.

His parents were desperately looking for any help. They witnessed the deadly both mental and physical pain MyungSoo was in every day. They were considering selling their house to get money to send their son to America to receive treatment but MyungSoo forbade them to do it as he already knew it was useless. He heard of many famous players whose career was shredded into pieces because of the very similar injury.

He would never dread to think it could have happened to him, too, though.

***

**Kakaotalk KINGS group chat**

SugarDaddy sent a picture: [SungKyu’s wearing sunglasses and holding a glass of lemonade; he’s sitting in the swing chair in the garden wearing a sweater]

SugarDaddy: the weather in October is lovely this year, indeed

JJong: is it gingseng lemonade? kkkk

JJong: gramps

SugarDaddy: it’s your tears squeezed into a glass when we meet next time

NamStar: How come there are two sunshines in one picture?

Namstar: Sungkyu when will you go on a date with me??

Namstar: *Tube playing the guitar emoji*

SugarDaddy: *Muzy getting shy emoji*

Namstar: OMG is that a yes? Because hey boy you’ve got two choices: yes or…yes!

SugarDaddy: hdffewrgbhdfaiue my finger slipped

SugarDaddy: I wanted to send this

SugarDaddy: *Muzy showing a stop sign with his hand*

Hojack: I’m definitely writing this in my diary kkk

Kenya: We should add MyungSoo to the group

Kenya: DaeYeol!!!!! Add MyungSooo!!!!!

JJong: Why so many !!!!?? DaeYeol’s not gonna hear it anyways

DaeBak: Why are you spamming so much since the very morning ??

Kenya: MyungSoo!! MyungSoo!!!

Hojack: :O

Kenya: Wait, he won’t be able to see our previous talks???

_MyungSoo was added to the group_

_DaeBak_ changed MyungSoo’s nickname to _My Little Princess_

JJong: thank god it’s not ‘my little pony ;P

My Little Princess: oh my god why

Kenya: Heeeeeeeeeeeey you’re here!!

Kenya: hearts

Namstar: DongWoo hasn’t been that excited since Hoya came to our group

Hojack: Was he excited, really?

Hojack: I don’t remember getting hearts tho

JJong: *sniff sniff* do I smell jealousy?

**Hojack JJong private chat**

Hojack: Jong stop it

JJong: it’s taking too long, hyung!

Hojack: I’m not telling you anything again

JJong: ok, I’m sorry~~

Hojack: buy me buckwheat noodles

JJong: to cure your broken heart?? Kkk

Hojack: and two bottles of soju!!!!

Hojack: and it’s not broken

Hojack: my heart

JJong: ok ~~

**KINGS group chat**

_My Little Princess changed his nickname to catman_

Kenya: BUAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAA

SugarDaddy: what sorcery is this kkkkk

_Daebak changed catman’s name into CuteKittySmile_

CuteKittySmile: ah, you invited me here to make fun of me

SugarDaddy: assa!

SugarDaddy: the real reason I started this convo, which turns out to be a never-ending one, is that I checked SungYeol schedule and Seoul Thunders are playing against Goyang Orion Orions on Friday

A

W

A

Y ~

Namstar: So fast? Wow!

Namstar: SungYeol! We’re going with you!

JJong: MyungSoo’s going, too!

CuteKittySmile: Am I?

DaeBak: On Friday? Which means you’re going to leave one day before, as usual? On Thursday? Aigo, I’ve got so many appointments

NamStar: cancel cancel!

DaeBak: No guys I can’t cancel the appointments whenever I want to, I can’t leave the patients!

Namstar: as you wish but we’re taking CuteKi—MyunGSoo with us

SugarDaddy: definitely

CuteKittySmile: guys, I don’t have money to go, you’ll have to go without me

Kenya: SungKyu will pay for you, isn’t he a sugar daddy? Kyakyakyaka

SugarDaddy: sure

CuteKittySmile: no, I can’t rally, it’s too troublesome

SugarDaddy: you don’t say no to your hyung

DaeBak: Go, MyungSoo ~~

**DaeYeollie MyungSoo private chat**

MyungSoo: Dae! Don’t put me in a situation like this!!!

DaeYeollie: Maybe Sungkyu will tell you one day, but for the time being just accept it and go

MyungSoo: what will he tell me?

DaeYeollie: oh, I’ve got a patient, gota go, ttyl!

MyungSoo: Dae??

Myungsoo: hmpf

**KINGS group chat**

SungFu: you havin’ good time without me?

DongWoo: I just checked the weather! It’ll be up to 18oC!!!

Hojack: Awwww, that’s gonna be refreshing!

JJong: hahahahaha says Hoya kkkkk you were the last one to join the group and didn’t find it refreshing back then hahaha

Hojack: aigo, everybody needs to go through their first time

Hojack: Why are you buttholing me you little leech

JJong: I don’t know :P

SungFu: It’s a pity I’d have to get there in the coach with the team instead of going with you guys

Namstar: whenever we go to Busan Sungyeol always says that

SugarDaddy: he’s afraid we may leave him out

Kenya: Sungyeol stop being so insecure, we love you

Hojack: Hey, I’m insecure, too

Hojack: Do you love me, too?

Kenya: yeah, yeah hahahahahahahha

Namstar: Now go Hoya, write it in your diary

**Hojack JJong private chat**

Hojack: ♥♥♥♥

JJong: *thumbs up*

**SugarDaddy CuteKittySmile private chat**

SugarDaddy: MyungSoo?

CuteKittySmile: yes? ^^

SugarDaddy: you have to come with us! You are a part of the family now!

CuteKittySmile: it’s really embarrassing

SugarDaddy: I’ll pay, don’t worry

CuteKittySmile: it looks so wrong that a sugar daddy is telling me he’s gonna pay

SugarDaddy: hahahahha ok, I’ll send the money onto your account and, one day, if you want to, you can pay it back, okay?

CuteKittySmile: well… ok

CuteKittySmile: but it’s so embarrassing

SugarDaddy: oh stop it, if only you knew how much money I gave to Woohyun already kkkkk

CuteKittySmile: What’s your secret? Do you have a money tree?

SugarDaddy: kkkk I’ll tell you one day

SugarDaddy: but for now, give me your bank account number

**CuteKittySmile SungFu private chat**

CuteKittySmile: Sungyeol?

SungFu: yes!

SungFu: if it’s something about you not going with us then don’t even bother saying it because I’m not listening

CuteKittySmile: oh ^^ it’s not

SungFu: so what is it?

SungFu: perhaps…has DaeYeol done something wrong?

SungFu: One day I’ll kill him, I swear!

SungFu: *Frodo burning with anger emoji*

CuteKittySmile: hahahaha no

SungFu: So what is it?

CuteKittySoo: I don’t know how to say this

SungFu: shoot me

SungFu: straight from the heart

SUngFu: I mean not like from your heart

SungFU: it’s not that I have something to do with your heart right

SungFu: and if it’s not connected with DaeYeol

SungFu: you understand, do you?

SungFu; is this getting awkward?

SungYeol covered his eyes in embarrassment. What is he even blabbering. Ugh, he seriously needs to think some more before he says/types something. It’s all Dongwoo’s fault. Birds of a feather flock together. Ugh

CuteKittySmile: hahahahahhahaha

CuteKittySMile: so I’m gonna ask openly

CuteKittySmile: will SungKyu want something from me in exchange for the loan?

CuteKittySMile: I mean, his nickname is sugardaddy and he gives me money and doesn’t even want me to pay it back

CuteKittySMile: ?

SungFu: HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA

SungFu: no! He won’t ask you for anything in exchange, don’t fret over that

MyungSoo: really?

SungFu: hahahahha yeah!

SungFu: Myungsoo, I gotta go, the training starts soon

CuteKittySMile: ok

CuteKittySmile: Fighting

**SungFu Namstar private chat**

SungFu: MyungSoo thinks SungKyu is really a sugar daddy!

SungFu: that’s so cute

Namstar: hahahahahaha whaaaaaat xD

**Namstar Hojack private chat**

Namstar: Sungyeol’s chatting with myungSoo on priv and MyungSoo thinks SungKyu is like a real sugar daddy! Hahahahahaahhaa I can’t!

Hojack: Does SungKyu know about it? Ahhahahahhaa

Namstar: Don’t tell him!

**JJong Hojack private chat**

JJong: Hyung, I’ll be at your workplace soon!

Hojack: nice!

Hojack: do you know that MyungSoo thinks that SungKyu is like a real sugar daddy and that he might ask myungSoo for a sexual favour in exchange for giving him money?? Hahahaa

JJong: hahahahhaha hyung! I almost dropped the food!!!

**JJong Kenya private chat**

JJong: Boys are talking that MyungSoo really thinks that SungKyu is a sugar daddy!

Kenya: hahahahha

Kenya: hahahahaa

Kenya: it’s almost as good as calling him bad luck brian

JJong: hahahhaaa

**KINGS group chat**

Kenya: MyungSoo, you really thought that???

Everybody (except for SungKyu and MyungSoo) facepalmed themselves in real life.

SugarDaddy: what does he think?

SugarDaddy: were you talking behind our backs and DongWoo spilled the beans AGAIN>????

CuteKittySmile: omg this is too embarrassing how could you

_Namstar changed CuteKittySmile’s nickname into sugarbabe_

Namstar: looks like we don’t have secrets in this family

**SugarDaddy Sugarbabe private chat**

Sugardaddy: I hate how they make everything so embarrassing

Sugardaddy: can we meet up?

Sugarbabe: yeah, I finish at 6

Sugardaddy: where can I meet you at?

Sugarbabe: The eye café

SugarDaddy: 6 o’clock it is then

SugarDaddy: and don’t worry about them dorks, I have had to put up with their shiet for years now kkkk,, you’ll get used to it, maybe miss it even

Sugarbabe: what did I get myself into

SugarDaddy: welcome to hell

Sugardaddy: xD

SugarDaddy: once you enter, there’s no coming back

Sugarbabe: Like a swamp or quicksand

Sugarbabe: one moment you invited me to your group chat and the next moment I’m talked into travelling with you aigo

SugarDaddy: It’s going to be fun, trust me

*

“One bowl of buckwheat noodles is here for you~~” SungJong enters the dance practice room after he had allowed everybody to leave it after practice. He saw Hoya sitting in the other end of the room, stretching.

“Yes~” Hoya watched the bowl being placed on the floor in front of him as if it was a token of worship.

“And some beer, because it’s too early to start drinking soju~”

“Ah, so generous,” white fangs flash in a grin

“And a shoulder to cry on,” SungJong sat down in front of the other and watches Hoya putting his palms together and bowing his head in a mocking thanks for the gifts.

“Well, I don’t know, I really don’t know…”

“What?” SungJong brushed the hair back off the forehead

“I’m not sure if I can tell anyone anything after what happened on kakao talk chat,” He chuckled and started digging into the noodles.

Sungjong puffed, offended, “You’ve already told me too much so pondering upon whether to tell me or not right now seems a bit too late, don’t you think?”

“Ayy, our smart SungJongie tsk tsk tsk, you’re too smart for your own good”

“What’s bothering you, tell me,” he made a pose as if he was a therapist holding his pen and ready to note down his patient’s worries.

“Everything’s cool… just another day of me losing my mind over his joyful way of being… Nah, I can’t,” he placed the chopsticks on the bowl and grabbed his head in an act of madness.

“All I can tell you, a g a i n, is to reveal yourself, what else can you do?” Sungjong made an all-knowing face.

“I know,” Hoya went back to eating his very late lunch,“ I just haven’t found out a perfect scenario for it yet”

“You know, when Dongwoo opposed this thing with a bet, I really thought you’re over,”

“I know right?” Hoya sighed, “I better come up with something, soon. The longer it lasts the greater the chance is that Dongwoo’s going to rule me out completely. Hey, by the way, did you really get over Sungyeol?”

“Of course not! I just had to say it because I think it makes him uncomfortable again, you guys just can’t keep your mouths shut!”

“We only want to help you out,”

“You’re not helping by bringing that up, he already knows about everything and he said it’s not going to work. I believe that forcing anyone into anything always brings the opposite effect…”

“So what are you going to do?”

Sungjong shrugged his arms and took chopsticks that Hoya was passing to him before he dug into the dish, “I’m just going to run his fansite until I die, I guess…”

“Poor thing,”

“Don’t pity me. There’s still hope! If Sungkyu agrees to go on a date with Woohyun, maybe Sungyeol’ll change his mind too! I mean, you know that we were on a date once… back then…”

“I know…I’ll keep my fingers crossed!”

They finished the meal talking over other things that trouble their hearts. 

*

MyungSoo chuckled at himself while wiping the worktops because of a thought of the boys popped into his mind; they all seem so nice and funny and so… open. And with all their dumbness that they didn’t even try to hide, he wonders how DaeYeol’s been putting up with them for such a long time while remaining perfectly sane. Myungsoo thinks about how he begged DaeYeol to visit the theme park together back then and how the other finally agreed and after spending the day there he promised that he’d never ever go to that hellish place again. Daeyeol just doesn’t know how to have fun. Myungsoo took it upon himself to teach the other how to relax a little because working all round the clock isn’t healthy. He’s sure there’s something Daeyeol isn’t telling him and maybe if he hangs out with the boys he’ll learn why his boyfriend is like that. It looks really strange that everybody is so cheerful and, even though he’s almost the youngest, very often he behaves as if he was older than Sungkyu. And Sungkyu… Myungsoo stops and goes through a little mental breakdown due to today’s situation ok kakaotalk group chat. And his meeting with Sungkyu is getting closer and closer and he really has no idea what he can expect. He sighs loudly and shakes his head before going back to his duties.


	5. jackpot

“We’re never going to finish this!” WooHyun looked at the mess on the floor before checking the time. 22:14.

“If you don’t stop complaining, we really won’t! So get down to work right now!”

“Sungyeol, let’s face it, we’re not going to get a promotion for the next class. We should have worked more diligently throughout the year! Let’s tell our parents the truth and just go to sleep”

“Are you kidding me? Our moms are going to kill us if they get to know! We should be thankful to the teacher that she let us do this shitty project to get ourselves from this shit without our parents knowing!” Sungyeol hissed.

WooHyun was opening his mouth to say something more when they heard a bang against the window, as if somebody threw a stone at it. 

Sungyeol grinned and run to the window to open it. It was a moment when SungKyu threw another rock which hit Sungyeol on the forehead. 

Sungyeol squashed the pain inside as he couldn’t afford to make his mother hear a thing. He walked to the window again and hissed through the open window: “come at the door!”

“What?!”  
“Come at the door! And be quiet!”

“WHAT?”  
Sungyeol left the window and started banging his head against the wall; seeing this Woohyun quickly scribbled the message on the piece of paper, crumpled it and unstuck Sungyeol from the wall before passing him the paper which Sungyeol threw out of the window.

“I’ll be right back… We’re saved!” Sungyeol put a thumb up and a moment later he was tiptoeing back to the room together with Sungkyu. 

“Sungkyu, meet Woohyun, my dumbass classmate. Woohyun, this is Sungkyu, my dumbass badass. He’s going to be in senior year next year and he’ll help us with the project!”

“Oh my god! Will you?” Woohyun couldn’t contain his joy and had to hug the older dearly which made Sungkyu laugh. He’s never met anyone who’d hug him the moment they see him. Besides, with all the sass and sneer that his days were filled up with, a sincere hug was a nice change. 

“Let me see what the probem is, guys”

WooHyun passed Sungkyu the piece of paper with a deadly face. Sungyeol was gloomy too when Sungkyu read the instructions out loud: 

“Rectangular isosceles triangles ABC and CDE are located as in the picture below (in both triangles the angle at the vertex C is straight). Show that |AD|=|BE|... And this is your problem?” Sungkyu snorted waving the piece of paper in his hand and watching the two miserable boys nodding their heads in unision. 

He shook his head and started explaining:

“That’s easy. Since the triangle ABC is isosceles, and the right angle is at segment C, the segments AC and BC are of the same length… and the same goes to the triangle CDE here…” he highlighted the segments in two different coulors and lifted his head up to see if the two miserable spirits were following him but hell no, they were playing rock-paper-scissors without saying a word. “Yah!” Sungkyu shouted and the two immediately panicked and SungYeol tried to cover the older’s mouth. 

“Sungkyu!” he hissed, “We can’t make my mother wake up! If she finds out, I’m dead!”

“Do you need me to explain this to you or not?” Sungkyu crossed his arms.

“Of course not! Just do it for us – that’s all we need!”

“But you won’t understand it, still-“

“Who cares! Like, what would we ever need it for, SungKyu pleeeeaaaase~~”

“Oh!” Sungyeol hit open palm with his fist, “Sungkyu loves Nell! Let’s bribe him with some albums!”

“I’ve got all of them, thanks, you won’t bribe me with this”

“You love Nell?” Woohyun stared out at the oldest, “M-me to! I have all their albums in three copies!”

“Really? What’s your favourite album?” SungKyu’s expression quickly turned from a serious into a delighted one; his narrow eyes were sparkling. 

“Healing process,” Woohyun sounded offended, “Isn’t that obvious?”  
“Well, I personally love four times around the sun therefore I’d slightly move towards Newton’s apple”

“Ah, from the newton’s apple, I like the night of reincarnation”

“Yes you make me stronger!!” they sang in unison in quiet high-pitch voices and both grinned at each other.

“What about the project?!” Sungyeol interrupted and received a response of the two boys at the same time:

“Shut up!”

** * **

Sungkyu gets out of his mercedes and takes a look at the café on the other side of the street. He hides his hands in the pockets of his jeans, looks to the left and to the right and runs across the street. 

The bell fixed to the door rings and the barista at the counter turns around, “Welcome customer,” the young lady bows and smiles at him. Sungkyu sends her a shy smile and he bows a little, too. Then he finds a free table and sits at it letting his thoughts wander as he’s watching the street outside the window. He jerks when somebody pats him on the shoulder. But the surprise wears off as soon as he sees the cute kitty smile which makes him grin as he gets reminded about the idiotic name on the group chat. 

“You came early!” 

“I don’t like being late, so…” 

Myungsoo smiled, “that’s so rarely seen these days.” 

“Sometimes I feel like an old person when them boys don’t understand me nagging about it,”  
“So I guess that from now on, there’ll be the two of us,” Myungsoo smiled again and squeezed Sungkyu’s arm, “what do you want to drink?” 

“Flat white, no sugar for me” 

Myungsoo watched him, surprised.

"What?" Sungkyu grinned.

"Nothing, you just don't look like a person who'd order such a thing"

"What can I do?" Sungkyu shrugged his arms

“Okay,I’ll make one right away” 

Sungkyu observed how Myungsoo skilfully operates the coffee machines and a moment later two freshly brewed coffees were placed on the table.

  
“So... Myungsoo....this kakaotalk issue…” 

“Ah, I guess you really have no secrets among one another!” 

“But to think that I might be a sugar daddy who tries to buy one of my friend’s partners...” Sungkyu smiled and shook his head slowly, he didn’t blush. He was so used to embarrassment thanks to all the time he spends with the idiots. 

  
“You are right, I’m sorry. I hardly know you… I mean, we hardly know each other yet you offer to give me money so easily… what should I think? I only asked Sungyeol-“ 

At this moment the door to the cafe flung open and a fat, sweaty girl in a school uniform jumped inside panting: 

“Myungsoo oppa, did I make it?”

She walked up to the counter and, seeing that there was a different cafe attendant, she whined out loud, “no, I’m late! Myungsoo oppa I wanted you to make coffee for me! I had a terrible day! And who’s gonna make it better now~”

  
Both SungKyu and Myungsoo observed the situation, with the difference that Sungkyu with his mouth and eyes wide open and Myngsoo with a warm smile on his face.  
“Wow, is she crazy or something? To walk into a café and make a fuss like this, really” the older chuckled.

“Excuse me for a moment,” Myungsoo got up and winked at Sungkyu before he left towards the counter announcing, “I’m here!” 

The girl turned around and her face expression changed in an instant.

“Myungsoo oppa!” she squealed and fanned herself with her palm, “I thought your shift was already over!”

“What can I get you?” He smiles at her with her angelic smile. It hits Sungkyu that although his shift is over, Myungsoo has a lot of patience while serving the girl. Unknowingly, she interrupted their meeting and yet, without a word of complaint, Myungsoo decided to serve her – how old could she be? Thirteen?

  
“I-iced frappe to take away,” she answered in a shaking voice, “and could you write my name on the cup? It’s RiNa”

  
“Okay,” Myungsoo smiled and went on to preparing the coffee. He signed the name on the cup and handed it to the girl with the cutest smile and the girl jumped in joy seeing her name next to a little heart drawn by the handsome cafe attendant. She left the money for coffee on the counter and bowed before she left the place with a dreamy smile stuck on her face.

Myungsoo sat back at the chair in front of Sungkyu, “Sorry I made you wait,”

  
“What was that?” Sungkyu didn’t hide his amusement while Myungsoo looked surprised,  
“A customer”

  
“I know that but isn’t your shift over?”

  
“Is it that difficult to do something nice to others? She was rushing here and wouldn’t it be heartless not to serve her when she asks for me and I’m still around?”

  
“Well, true,” Sungkyu took a sip of coffee, “you have a good heart”

  
Myungsoo cracked up, “Do I look like a person who has a good heart?”

  
“As much as I was able to observe… and trust me, I’m good at observing… You know, people with good hearts need to watch out more… boys are gonna pull your leg a lot, don’t believe in everything that they say”

  
“Oh, I think I already got the pre-taste, _sugar daddy_ ”

  
“Ah,” Sungkyu waved his hand, “just remember that you can come to me whenever you feel like it, I’ll try to help if there’s a need”

  
“OK!” Myungsoo raised his cup an took a sip, “So... Why did you decide to lend me the money?”

  
“Since I want you to be comfortable with us, I will tell you... You see, on the day of me leaving the military...,” he looked away and smiled at himself, “...you have to know that I enlisted late; DongWoo, Hoya and Woohyun finished serving around a year earlier, so on the day of my leave they came to pick me up, of course. There was my family there too and them boys stared singing the hallelujah song - their own version...” 

Myungsoo saw sparkles in the tiny eyes of his interlocutor and had to smile at that sight while the latter continued:

“... you haven’t heard it yet but, believe me, you’ll hear it often from now on. Anyways, Woohyun was in charge of the stanzas and, he sang something about a long-awaited lucky day and that he’s got a present for me and I thought they would do something really embarrassing but he only gave me an envelope and there was a...,” he got shy and giggled at the thought, “...a message from him and a lottery ticket”

“And what happened?”

“And this is where the story starts! So, on that day, we went for drinks and played basketball with them boys and, to be honest, I wanted to forget, no, uhm… I hid the envelpe somewhere and I guess a few days passed and apparently there was big news in town, which I hadn’t heard about because I was busy looking for a job. Until one evening, when Woohyun called me and asked if I checked my lottery ticket because they were calling the winner to claim their prize and nobody was responding. And so I found the envelope… and the ticket... and the message.... and checked the numbers...”

  
“Did you win?”

  
Sungkyu grinned until his eyes turned into two thin lines and nodded his head.

  
“Oh my god no way!” Myungsoo laughed, “And what did Woohyun say? Was he feeling regretful that he didn’t keep the winning ticket for himself?”

  
“I asked him if he wants to take half of the money but he refused and asked me for something else in return”

“Ah, I see, I guess there was something more important than money for him. I think that it’s your private thing but... tell me...,” Myungsoo leaned towards Sungkyu over the table, “... was it something dirty?”

Sungkyu’s eyebrow twitched before he blushed and answered, “No! Of course not! However, it’s been over half a year and I still haven’t granted his... wish, which… let’s say that it’s his life-long wish…,” Sungkyu took a sip from his cup hoping that Myungsoo won’t ask anymore, because the whole embarrassing thing wouldn’t go through his throat.

Myungsoo was a polite man, he got the message across. He leaned back and finished his coffee.

  
“Wow, so you’re a millionaire…”

  
“I’d like to ask you to keep the info for yourself, would you? I mean, all the boys know about it, of course, but it’d be nice if you didn’t tell any other people”

  
“My lips are sealed, don’t worry,” Myungsoo smiled. Little did he know that the message that Woohyun hid in the envelope, said: I hope the win reflects how much you mean to me. And that the favour Woohyun asked Sungkyu for, instead of getting half of the money was for Sungkyu to go on a date with him.

“Myungsoo?”  
“Yeah?”  
“Since I told you something about my story, can you tell me something, too?”  
“Well, sure! What do you want to know?”

“Is Daeyeol good to you? I’m sorry for being straightforward but that’s just how I learned to talk with them dorks, like really, if I don’t tell them exactly what I mean they won’t get the message across.” Sungkyu smiled apologetically.

“Why asking this, suddenly? Is there anything I should know about?” Aha, Myungsoo knew there was something about DaeYeol he could learn from his friends.

  
SungKyu was taken by surprise by such logic and he shook both his hands and his head “No! No! DaeYeol is a good person but… I’m so curious because it’s the first time he brought somebody to introduce to us and… and that’s it.”

“He’s very…busy,” MyungSoo smiled uncomfortably.

Sungkyu laughed, “Well, both Lee brothers, although in different fields, are busy and work hard”

“He tends to space out a lot”

“You know, that’s not the answer to the question”

“He’s great, really! And I miss him all the time. Literally, he’s so busy it makes me miss him all the time”

“Oh? Is that the only thing that bothers you?”

“Yeah, we don’t know each other that much though. But I want us to work out”

Sungkyu breathed in through his nose heavily and smiled. 

“That’s…good. Hey, you just finished your shift, I don’t want to keep you busy! I guess I’ll go to Sungyeol’s place to hang out with the boys. You can come with me!”

“I need to feed my cat, you know” 

“Great!” Sunggyu gets up, “We’ll go feed your cat first and then we can go to Sungyeol’s place. Let’s go!” he winked at MyungSoo and pulled him by the hand out of the café. 

Sungkyu’s never been the type to live up to the carpe-diem rule. Rushing and playing by ear could do more harm than good and Sungkyu learned that he only needs peace in his life. Of course them boys were already like a family to him, and bickering with them became an inseparable part of his life; even though they tend to make fun of him a lot, he knows that he can always rely on them. He got used to the feeling to such an extent that he dreads to imagine his life without them anymore. Different like day and night but somehow they still fit together like the black and white in the ying-yang symbol. 

And it’s at the same time a blessing and a curse. Because, come on, of all people, why does Woohyun have to fall for him?

Or maybe, most importantly…

Why has he fallen for the other, too?

Of course it’s easy just to give up to the lingering feeling and to think about the conseuences later. Except for the fact that Sungkyu can’t afford any mistakes. If anything goes wrong and they break up, the atmosphere is never going to be the same again; the worst case scenario would be when one of them has to leave the group eventually because they might not be able to put up with each other after the possible breakup. 

On the other hand, why wouldn’t they work out? After all, they’ve known each other for such a long time already, which means that if there was something that could go wrong between them it should already be shown by now. So it’s not the personality that is a problem. Neither is the looks – Woohyun is really good-looking no matter what he wears and what hairstyle he opts for. 

Is it fear that once they really get together Woohyun’s going to stop adoring him so much? Or that he himself would have to show off his affection towards the other openly? And are the boys going to make fun of it? No, they won’t. Or will they? Of course they will! Sungkyu sighs. But again, even possibility of being mocked doesn’t scare him that much as the risk of going out and breaking up in the end. But, on the long run, it’s better to try than not to try at all and regret it one day…, right?


	6. the text message

They say time heals all wounds.

MyungSoo took up studying again. It was the only thing that helped him see the light. Every spare minute of his life, he was studying everything connected to biological sciences and, to surprise of everyone, he passed the university entrance exams with flying colours. He was determined to find a way which would help him overcome the injury somehow. He didn’t want to lose hope but in the end, after three years of enriching his knowledge and practising different techniques of physiotherapeutic massage, he finally let it sink into his head that even if he found a way, it’d be already too late for him as some of the ligaments had already undergone the process of fibrosis. It could be treated with a surgery but Myungsoo knew that a treated and rehabilitated knee, after so much time, will never work the way he’d wish it to.

He hasn’t decided to continue with the master’s degree studies so far.

He got stuck in the café.

***

As soon as the door to the apartment opened, SungKyu asked warily as they were passing the threshold:

“Why is it so quiet? Is it possible that nobody’s here?”

MyungSoo gulped, “Maybe they want to scare us,” he felt Sungkyu’s fist on his arm.

“Stop fretting over,” he whispered, as the idea of boys suddenly jumping on them out of nowhere gave him goosebumps.

They sighed with relief when they saw boys hanging out in the living room. Woohyun was sleeping while Sungjong was reading a magazine, and Dongwoo was hunching over a piece of paper with a pen in his hand.

“Hi!” Sungkyu’s voice echoed around the place and it made Woohyun jump up from his nap “Why are you all so quiet today?”

“Why is it so dark in the room, DongWoo, it will make your eyesight worsen,” Myungsoo walked up to turn on the light but nothing happened when he pressed the switch.

“Yeah, it’s been some time now since the blackout happened”

“Where’s Hoya?” Woohyun asked surprised, “I swear he was here a moment ago. How long have I been sleeping?”

“Around an hour?” Sungjong looked at his watch.

“Wow! That’s a nice amount of time of beauty sleep! How do I look, Sungkyu? Handsome? You like it?” he tried some aegyo which made MyungSoo chuckle;

“Yes Woohyun, your face is pretty…”

“Really?”

“…bloated. Pretty bloated”

WooHyun threw a pillow at the oldest while Sungjong laughed. Everybody looked at Dongwoo, who was still focused on the paper. He was tapping some rhythm with the pen hitting against his thigh.

“Wow, after spending some time with you already I start to take some things for granted, like normally I should be impressed that I’m blessed to see my idol in the process of creating his work…” Myungsoo sat down at the sofa next to Dongwoo watching the other, “….But why does his face expression still looks kind of stupid even when his brain is working its ass off?” he chuckled.

“I heard that,” Dongwoo muttered.

“I’m sorry,” MyungSoo lifted his hands up and laughed.

“To think about it, it’s sort of true,” SungKyu moved closer to watch Dongwoo’s face, “tsk tsk tsk what are you writing there? Something for your secret admirer, maybe?”

“That’s right! Maybe you could update us on that!”

“He seems to be sort of busy these days, but he doesn’t want to say what he’s doing...” Dongwoo answered without looking up.

“Mysterious,” Sungjong scratched his chin

“After all, it’s a secret admirer, right? He wouldn’t be secret if he revealed things about himself,” MyungSoo thought aloud before Dongwoo finished:

“…but we managed to set a date for our meeting”

“Wow? Really? When?”

“Two days after we come back from Busan”

“Wow, that’s next week!”

“Have you thought what to tell him?”

“No!” DongWoo laughed, “I’d only like to thank him for helping me go through the hard times, that’s all.”

“And what is that blush on your face, hm?” Woohyun moved closer too, “It smells like a love story~~”

DongWoo laughed again, “What love story? You are crazy!” he poked Woohyun in the forehead.

“I’m crazy because Sungkyu drives me crazy”

“Ah! MyungSoo! How’s… it ….going? Huh?” After so much time Sungkyu’s already mastered the art of diverting attention from himself whenever Woohyun started getting dangerously greasy.

“That’s right! How are things with Daeyeol?” Sungjong’s eyes got wider at the promise of some juicy piece of news.

“Gossip time!” Woohyun grabbed a cushion and hugged it sticking his eyes to Myungsoo.

“You can tell us anything!”

MyungSoo smiled, “It’s great…”

Suddenly, the ones who knew about the bet sighed with relief.

“...he works a lot but, you know, we try to catch up with everything in the evening,” he grins and shrugs his shoulders.

“He’s not bored of you yet?”

“What do you mean? Whenever we meet he says he misses me and he’s really considerate, always”

“Daeyeol is a player,” DongWoo sighed and noticing MyungSoo’s face he quickly corrected himself, “He used to be, he used to!” he laughed.

“What DongWoo wanted to say was that we’re not sure we know exactly what Daeyeol is like when it comes to relationships. He’s never introduced anyone to us before”

“I know, Sungkyu already told me,” MyungSoo beamed.

“But we know he had a lot of partners”

“Dongwoo!”

“What? That’s true!”

“I don’t mind about his past; it has nothing to do with me, after all! I’m his present and want to be his future only”

“Kids,” SungKyu concluded.

“We never know what future holds in store for us,” with his philosophic words DongWoo made MyungSoo chukle

“By the way, how did you guys get to know with DongWoo?”

SungKyu started laughing at the thought, “Oh, it’s such a nice story”

“Unbelievable!” Woohyun added with his index finger pointing upwards.

“Yeah! Back then, when Sungyeol started playing professionally, his schedule was really, really tight so we hanged out with WooHyun a lot.”

“Those were the times”

“What times? We still hang out, what do you mean?”

“Back then your cheeks were so chubby and you looked so cute!” Woohyun cupped his own face and swung from side to side.

“Stop dreaming out loud, it’s a story about DongWoo”

“Thanks, Jongie”

The oldest and the youngest hit knuckles as a sign of mutual understanding of a newly-formed-Woohyun-tormenting gang and MyungSoo threw his arm around Woohyun to cheer him up a little.

“So we were hanging out around the city and Dongwoo was just performing in the street”

“We mainly acknowledged only Nell so we didn’t pay much attention to hip-hop performances but DongWoo was rapping something about wasabi getting into somebody’s eyes~~” SungKyu giggled

“ _I won’t ever drop my fire! I see my future before me! To some, this would feel like getting wasabi in their eyes_ ” Dongwoo brought back the lyrics in an instant with passionate expression on his face as if he just got to know the song.

“..and I made a comment that SungKyu won’t have this problem because his eyes are so small”

“...and I was tired of his stupid jokes about my eyes-“

“It wasn’t a joke! How many times do I have to tell you? It was praise!”

“Aha~”

“So, I thought that he left me alone in the street and walked away because he took a grudge on me, which he did a lot back then if I think about it”

“I didn’t!”

“You did! You sensitive princess!”

“Don’t call me Princess! I am the king, if something”

Woohyun only laughed and Dongwoo added something to the story:

“And I saw that! There weren’t many people listening… anyways, it was right before the lyrics went: _never lose hope, never never lose hope_ “

“I was wondering if it was a coincidence or did he really sing it in the song. It’s as if it was directed at me because SungKyu just left me!”

“And I thought it was directed at me because Woohyun pissed me off again and so I left” Sungkyu added and then Woohyun continued:

“Anyways… So, instead of following SungKyu, aka the Princess who turned into the King, I waited for the song to be over to have a small chat with him…. Dongwoo must have always been a person who’s easy to talk to, and he really spread a positive virus around him so the conversation was flowing easily…. At one point SungKyu came back with a wasabi tube.” Woohyun massaged his cheeks because they hurt him from smiling all the time, “…he passed me the tube and said something like – _rub the wasabi in my eyes now or shut up about the size of my eyes forever._ And I said something like… _but open…. your eyes first_ ~!” WooHyun was holding his stomach already as he couldn’t overcome the giggling so Sungkyu continued for him:

“And that was the moment when Dongwoo fell on the ground and couldn’t stop laughing like crazy and when he regained his composure he said that it was probably the best diss ever, you know, when Woohyun told me to open my eyes first”

“And then he started laughing again”

“And it was somewhat contagious so we couldn’t help but laugh, too”

“SungKyu!” Dongwoo called, feeling that the laughter is creeping around the corner

“What?”

“Open your eyes when you talk to me!”

Everybody bursted out laughing and even SungKyu couldn’t help but follow. And that was the moment when the light came back again.

*

In the meantime, Hoya took a break from dancing in the studio. He grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face. Even though it’s pretty dark outside, there’s still long hours of practice ahead and he knows it. But there’s a reason why his performance needs to be perfect. He’s willing to sacrifice a lot to make it work out. He laid hold of his phone and typed a reply which was forming in his head the whole time.

“Don’t worry about it - I will find you. I can’t tell you what I’ll be wearing because it will help you recognise me before I approach you, and I want to look confident until the last moment!^^”

*

In his office, DaeYeol was filling in the patient reports when he received a notification.

He checked his phone and felt his heart skipped a beat. He hasn’t seen a message from this number for ages. It could only mean two things, though – either the person wants to contact him or it’s their parents texting him which means: horrible news.

He wasn’t sure if he was ready for all this. He only got to know Myungsoo not long ago. There’s the bet too. His hands were trembling when he was unlocking the screen.

“Please.” he pressed the text icon and closed his eyes. “Please please please please” he breathed out heavily and tried to force his eyes open but couldn’t. He put the phone away and focused on the pile of files on his desk. As much as he wants to work he can’t focus. What’s going on? Working like mad always helped him forget but now he’s anxious to the point that his whole body starts itching.

The phone vibrates again.

Daeyeol cracks up a smile. He knows that everything is okay now. The person will always be such a hothead. He must have noticed the message was read because Daeyeol opened it although he wasn’t able to read it.

Forgetting about the whole world, he reached out for the phone and read:

 _Hey! I’m back! I’m completely healed now!_ [Daeyeol giggled at the word ‘completely’, because this person cannot be completely healed, ever, because of their mental state] _I’m sorry it took so long... I’m not asking if you want to but rather when we are meeting up?_

_Things change with time. I told you I’m not waiting for you. I’m seeing someone now._

_You know that I don’t care. Does that person make you laugh the way I did? Does that person know your mind like I do? Does that person complete you like I do?_

_Well, has comparing ever brought anything good?_

_I told you I would do anything to get back to you, even after the brain surgery I haven’t forgotten about it. Because it’s my heart, DY. You can’t deceive your heart._

_Come and check if you can still make me laugh and read my mind then_

_I’m more than positive. I want to come right now._

_No. Wait. I’ll talk to you soon._

_You better do that, or else I’m going to kidnap you!_

_I mean it ;-)_

“No fake hopes, Daeyeol. That kidnapping thing though…” he smiles at himself and shakes his head, “…that could be fun… No, wait! What? You have a bet to win here, Lee Daeyeol!” he looked at the reports and sighed, “damn”

He dialled Myungsoo.

“Movie night, at my place? What do you say? Okay! I’ll pick you up then!”

***

SungYeol had barely left the car when he heard somebody honking at him. He looked around and saw his brother grinning from the car window.

“Back from practice, this late?” Daeyeol got out of the car.

“Back from work, this early?” Sungyeol locked his.

They hugged each other for the greeting part.

“Tell MyungSoo to come down, I’ll wait for him in the car – the weather today is awful!”

“It’s a perfect time to cuddle, isn’t it?” Sungyeol breathed in the chilly air

“Tsk! Cuddling is for children!” Daeyeol shouted to make sure that Sungyeol, who was walking away, hears it.

“I’m home~~”

Sungyeol smiled at his friends greeting him loud from the living room. First he passed chef DongWoo bustling in the kitchen. “Tea time” he smiled and pointed his chin at the living room. Sungyeol took a peek at what’s happening there and saw SungKyu reading on the floor and being a human-sized pillow for MyungSoo and Woohyun; the latter was holding his phone up and both of them giggled at the same time due to something they were watching. Sungjong was nestled in the armchair and listening to music on the earphones.

“I’m the mom today,” DongWoo laughed and passed Sungyeol a cup of hot drink, which he accepted with a snort

“What kind of mom are you? Where’s the food?”

“Let’s eat meat!” SungKyu moved and earned complaining sounds from the two who were resting their heads against him

“Should we go and treat ourselves to some pork belly?”

“I’ll drive us there!” SungYeol left the cup on the counter, “Can we go now? Ah, MyungSoo! DaeYeol wanted me to tell you that he’s waiting for you downstairs”

“Really? So early?”

Sungyeol grinned, “That’s exactly what I told him when I met him there”

“Okay! Let’s go now!” Woohyun got up and patted Sungjong on the knee. When the other opened his eyes Woohyun made some eating gestures and the youngest face brightened up as he got himself up from his seat.

“You know that you’re the best for always waiting for me with meals” Sungyeol showed his gummy smile.

“But since we waited, it’s your treat!”

“yeah, yeah, put on your shoes quickly or I’ll eat them! I’m starving!”

***

“How’s work?”

“Let’s not talk about work after work… Although you know that I could,” DaeYeol looked at MyungSoo over the counter slyly, “You sure you don’t want a drink? I can make you a really nice one, bartender DaeYeol is here for you~~”

“I think that mulled wine would be nicer, though. It’s almost the right time to drink it, just a few more weeks and it would be a perfect way of spending the evenings”

“Unfortunately, I don’t drink much wine... it leaves stains on your teeth…” Daeyeol smiled apologetically, “…but if you want to, I can go and get a bottle from the shop for you”

“No, it’s fine, don’t worry, this green tea is enough,” MyungSoo smiled and couldn’t wait to finally snuggle into his boyfriend’s arms.

“So, did you have fun with the boys?” Daeyeol placed his drink on the table and sat next to MyungSoo facing the other.

“We talked a bit about how they meet DongWoo”

“Oh so you know WooGyu love story, too”

“A bit, I guess… I also found out that Woohyun and I have similar sense of humor!”

“Really?”

“We watched the ponies of Bronx today!”

“Really? Ah, I’m gonna kill this man, why does he always insist on showing these stupid, absurd videos to everyone”

“The absurd is what makes them funny”

“I will never understand it”

“Oh……so…what films are we going to watch during the movie night?” MyungSoo smiled and prayed for horrors so that he could you-know-what.

“How about the Spy? Have you seen it?”

“I don’t think so”

“So let’s watch it! I’ve wanted to see it for some time now, but didn’t have time…” Daeyeol looked for the film in the library and pressed play. Then he put his arm around Myungsoo and pulled him closer.

“It’s perfect,” Myungsoo whispered

“Yeah” Daeyeol answered matter-off-factly and he had a strange feeling that he won’t be able to focus on the film much. And it’s not because of Myungsoo by his side. He’s just realised it and bit his lip.

Unfortunately for Myungsoo the perfection of them cuddling couldn’t last long as every now and then DaeYeol was breaking the embrace to lean for the glass on the table. With time, the plot was becoming more compelling and DaeYeol found it hard to sit in one place and he was shifting his position with every twist in the story. At least that’s what Myungsoo thought was the reason because for him, the film was of no big fun but, in the end, the making out session after it finished made Myungsoo’s evening with his boyfriend.

Daeyeol, on the other hand, couldn’t stop thinking about the text message he received today.

The smile that he was afraid could fade away in his memory - he might be able to see it again soon.

And Myungsoo’s body had a different taste tonight. Or maybe it was like that from the very beginning and Daeyeol’s been lying to himself?

How come something he doesn’t know, because he didn’t have a chance to taste, already feels better than what he has now?


	7. the hands that can heal

Apart from laughing, Dongwoo is known for his constant need for singing. His youtube channel, which brings him decent profits, is solely connected to rapping and commenting on some new rap songs releases – once, he used it for a diss battle - somebody challenged him and he couldn’t let it pass after all the things he had heard. The diss went on for a few weeks, so there were several pieces rapped over a period of time. It was at that period when Dongwoo’s secret admirer marked their presence. In his comments, he pleaded Dongwoo to stop wasting time on such trivial things as rap battles and expressed his desire for Dongwoo to continue the good things which he had done before. It was a difficult time for the rapper and Dongwoo found the secret admirer extremely helpful to go through that times.

One day, after one of the conversations with his secret admirer, he visited SungYeol’s place and learned it was empty. It was a rare thing to happen, so Dongwoo, in order to pass the time, played his beat from the telephone and started singing some lyrics he had written:

_I hope you are the same as me_

_Just say everything out honestly_

_Vague relationships like this are quite difficult_

_Now, I want to be in such a certain relationship_

_You and me something between us_

_It seems like there is something going on between us_

_Something between something_

_Baby you and me_

And when he sang the last part with his eyes closed and hand reached out he screamed in surprise at the sound of something being dropped to the floor and when he opened his eyes he saw Hoya standing in front of him with his phone on the floor and how the other didn’t know where to look at and it was so hilarious and DongWoo felt so embarrassed at the same time that he felt an overwhelming urge to fall on the floor laughing while being accompanied by the beat in is telephone.

Only later, with a bittersweet heart did Hoya hear DongWoo saying that it’s a song he’d sing for his secret admirer once they meet up one day. At least that was the official version of the story which Hoya had to believe in, because Dongwoo just didn’t have enough courage to tell him the truth.

***

By the time he reached his house, SungYeol was dead tired. His right calf has been killing him all day and he knows he’ll have to do something about it but he wanted to drag the moment he goes to the physiotherapist as long as he could. He knew that a massage would magically help ease the pain but the tickling he receives while being massaged is something he cannot bear.

“Why the heck would I get tickles in my calves,” he kicked a small rock on his way to the entrance, “Why not ribs or feet, why the frigging calves? Who’s the real bad luck brian in here?” he chuckled at the thought, “Seriously”

Whenever he lied down and somebody started kneading and squeezing his calves he feels an unstoppable urge to jump all over the place like a fish taken out of water. And he tried changing the masseur, he tried massaging them himself which was only of a little help and basically nothing worked for him.

He felt like killing himself as he was checking his masseur’s schedule so that he could set up a visit while, with his other hand, he was entering the code to this flat.

As soon as the bag hits the floor, his body feels a little less burdened. As soon as he hears the lively noises coming from the living-room, his soul gets uplifted.

“SungYeollie” everybody cheered loudly at the sight of their friend and Sungyeol had no intention of being the reason to lessen the mood anyhow because of the pain.

He saw MyungSoo waving at him bashfully from the armchair and how WooHyun slid with his body onto the boys sitting on the sofa and how SungKyu rolled his eyes at the idiocy and Dongwoo slapped WooHyun’s butt hard for the intrusion.

“Hi dorks,” SungYeol walks up and grabs the nearest can on the table to drink from it; when he swallows he asks “Whom am I indirectly kissing today?” without waiting for an answer he ruffles Sungjong’s hair as he walks by with the said can in his grip.

“It’s mine, honey” DongWoo sends a kiss to the tallest one before he bursts out laughing

“Watch out Sungyeol, or you’ll catch a happy virus,”

“Hoya, you have no idea how I wish for it,” SungYeol sat on the floor next to the armchair. He passed the can to MyungSoo to hold it, while he reaches out for a foam roller. “Where’s Dae?” he asks while placing the roller under his calf, “…lately, it feels that I see you more often than him, MyungSoo”

“He’s in the toilet,” MyungSoo chuckles and passes the can to Dongwoo, who takes a sip and hands it back to MyungSoo without taking hs eyes off the tv screen.

“But how long is he there already?” Sungjong noticed

“Nothing ever escapes your sight, does it, Sungjongie?”

“Sungjong aka the detective”

“The surveillance camera”

“You’re laughing but remember when everybody was taking turns playing the last patron looking for the key to the last level ultimate boss? How you all forgot that SungKyu had put it in the metal barrel in the dungeons of the dark castle?”

Everybody bursted out laughing and MyungSoo watched them, confused.

“The dungeons of the dark castle is the safest place ever, he said!” SungYeol mocked Sungkyu’s voice with a grin on his face.

“Why did you forget Sungkyu? It was your idea in the first place!”

“I hid it without telling you to make sure you wouldn’t play while I’m in the military. We only continued after I was discharge, how would I still remember such a thing?”

“But Sungjong figured it out! You should finally admit the fact that you’re getting old” Hoya flashed his fangs and knowing what’s going to happen later, namely, Woohyun is going to pass a comment on it, he used the opportunity that the boys’ attention will be drawn to the Namstar, he reached his hands towards MyungSoo in a gesture asking to pass him the holly can from which DongWoo had taken a sip a moment ago.

“You see Sungkyu? Taking your age into consideration, you should really consider going on a date with-“ SungKyu only covered Woohyun’s mouth at the same time when Daeyeol appeared in the room.

“What were you laughing about?”

“Dae! Finally!”

“You went there, like, yesterday!”

“Ayyy come on don’t embarrass him in front of his boyfriend!”

“Boyfriend?” Hoya pretended that he’s surprised, “You haven’t got married yet?”

Another wave of laughter came over the room.

“Right Hoya, sorry that we didn’t invite you,” DaeYeol walked up to the armchair and didn’t miss a chance to flicker his brother in the back of the head as he walked past him. “MyungSoo said your jokes are lame and we didn’t want to spoil the ceremony,” DaeYeol endured the punch in the leg that his brother sold him in revenge and sat down at the arm of the armchair and pulled his boyfriend in a hug.

“Really Myungsoo? I’m so disappointed in you” Hoya tsk-ed.

“It’s not true! Daeyeol was afraid that you will dance better than him at his own wedding that’s why he didn’t invite you”

The sound of awe echoed around the room.

“Look at him! Dissing his own boyfriend!”

  
“He’s the king!”

“It makes Daeyeol the queen!” Hoya laughed

“The princess,” Sungyeol grinned watching his brother getting red in the face

“Why are you foam-rolling your calves, grandpa? Shouldn’t you be in a perfect condition before tomorrow’s match?” was the only reply DaeYeol was able to come up with.

“Ah seriously, my calves are killing me”

“Don’t you guys have physiotherapists in the club?” Myungsoo looked at Sungyeol, surprised.

“Here it comes!” smelling the basketball talk in the air, DaeYeol moved to squeeze himself somewhere on the sofa, “Can I play, too?”

  
“Of course we do! It’s just that I have a little problem with it”

“What kind of a problem? You go lay down and have the problem solved for you”

“My calves are sort of sensitive”

“Just tell him already Sungyeol, when somebody touches you there you get a boner”

Myungsoo chuckled and watched DongWoo almost slide off the sofa laughing. SungYeol threw the foam roller at Hoya’s back. “Idiot!”

“You’re welcome,” Hoya answered without taking his eyes off the tv screen; he felt the foam roller with his hand and lied down on the floor with the roller working as his pillow.

“Oh right! Myungsoo did we tell you about the game we used to play when we learned about Sungyeol’s sensitive calves?”

“No, but I bet it’s something evil, tell me about it!”

“No, no, it’s nothing special, don’t tell him,” Sungyeol was waving his hands as if that would help him somehow and prevent the story from being told.

SungJong got up and started tiptoeing towards the two “It’s called grab Sungyeol by the calf”

SungKyu laughed out loud and DaeYeol warned the youngest not to get between them and the rv screen making SungJong creep behind the sofa.

“What?” MyungSoo laughed. He observed Sungyeol getting ready to run away any second now

“You… just… grab it and see for yourself,” SungJong was imitating a grabbing movement with his hands while trying to look creepy.

Sungyeol got up, “No! Don’t come closer! Stop!”

And then, before SungJong attacked or Sungyeol run away, MyungSoo squeezed Sungyeol’s calf from behind. SUngyeol the other turned around, surprised.

“And that’s it? What a stupid game” MyungSoo looked at them with raised eyebrows.

But SungYeol and Sungjong looked at each other questioningly.

“Oh? Nothing happened?” SungKyu, who was sitting at the end of the sofa and observed the situation, was tilting his head in surprise

“Should anything happen?” MyungSoo grabbed his own calf to check the sensation but he felt nothing besides his sturdy fingers.

A moment later he heard SungYeol shriek and saw the tall almost falling on the armchair as SungKyu unexpectedly grabbed him by the calf.

“Ah no, please!” Sungyeol wants to defend himself from SungJong before he jumps like a fish taken out of the water when the younger squeezes his calf.

MyungSoo watches the whole situation in surprise, the fact that the grin doesn’t get off Sungyeol’s face as he begs his two friends to stop makes him realise they must be trying to pull his leg with the story: “okay, I’m not falling for that you idiots, this is so lame”

“It tickles!” Sungyeol laughs and cries at the same time because it’s painful, too.

Sungyeol grabs MyungSoo by the hand and watches him in the eyes pleadingly, “save me” as he tries to calm his breathing down.

“You see? It was such fun” SUngjong’s still grinning like crazy

“We were so horrible back then I can’t believe it”

Woohyun appeared out of nowhere “But why didn’t it work when MyungSoo touched it?”

“He’s right! MyungSoo, squeeze it again” SungKyu ordered

“NO!” Sungyeol begged

MyungSoo sat on top of Sungyeol who was balled up in the armchair already taking the defensive position and squeezed his calf which made Sungyeol groan with pain, but no tickling or jumping nervously.

SungKyu and Woohyun watched it with their eyes and mouths open and it made MyungSoo laugh

“I’m so sorry SungKyu but your eyes are so small… it’s so cute”

“I know right?” WooHyun grinned

“Leave my eyes alone, okay?”

“Okay~~~Sorry~~” MyungSoo continued the massage, this time he turned to Sungyeol “it’s crazy how tense your muscles are…” he got up from the other not wanting to hurt him by sitting on him.

“Wow, Daeyeol didn’t tell us you’ve got the hands that can heal!” WooHyun summed up the whole situation.

“I didn’t what?” Daeyeol only heard his name in the midst of a heated battle on the screen.

“I said, you never told us your boyfriend had hands that can heal”

“Hoya! That’s cheating!” was the only answer they could hear from Daeyeol as he was in a different world now.

“Heal me some more, please,” Sungyeol begged.

“Well… okay,” MyungSoo started pulling his sleeves up when the screams of disagreement made him jerk in surprise.

“No!”

“MyungSoo, no!”

Both WooGyu jumped in between SungYeol and MyungSoo leaving the latter with his eyes wide open at the sudden reaction

“That’s not how you do it!” Sungkyu grabbed Myungsoo’s wrists

“You should demand something in return! Do you really want to do it for free?”

“What?” MyungSoo chuckled “…can’t I just do a favour to somebody who’s in need?”

“Don’t let him use you!”

MyungSoo shook his head in disbelief as he observed Woogyu bartering with Sungyeol on his behalf.

“So, Sungyeol… what will MyungSoo get in exchange?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged his shoulders and turned to the man in question, “what do you want?”

“I don’t know. What do you guys usually ask for?”

“Drinks, food…”

“Having a go while it’s somebody’s turn while playing games”

“Food, drinks…”

“Starting the throws game with an advantage of extra points…”

“Did I mention food?”

MyungSoo chuckled, “Okay, okay I get it! Hmmm…. Then I want… a Korean hot dog!”

“Deal!” Sungyeol grinned

“Wait wait wait!” Woohyun was waving his hands

“Only a hot dog?” Sungkyu’s voice got high pitched due to the surprise

“A hot dog for one leg! And for the other one?” Woohyun shouted

“Yeah! What do you want for the other leg?”

“Ah really…” Myungsoo snorted, “hmmm… spicy chicken”

“Deal” Sungyeol sighed

“And beer, beer!” Woohyun added

“Deal, deal” SUngyeol was waving his hand to finish the negotiations.

SungKyu and Woohyun shook each other’s hands, “We drive a hard bargain, good job”

“Yeah, good job”

They grinned at each other.

“You see MyungSoo? Since you didn’t know how things work here, we helped you for free”

“But it’s only once!”

“Ah, okay, thank you~”

“Okay, okay, skip the formalities, your patient is waiting!” Yeol was already pushing Myungsoo towards the bedroom while WooGyu started a fight for the place in the empty armchair.

“Wait, but DaeYeol-“

“He’s completing a sidequest now, he won’t hear you. His multitasking skills suck”

As soon as they entered the bedroom Sungyeol fell flat on the bed with his cheek buried in the pillow. “I’m ready” he mumbled

MyungSoo snorted and shook his head at the sight and the comment.

He took a few steps forward to found himself standing on a fluffy carpet before he sat on the edge of the bed.

“What?” Sungyeol lifted his head a little to see the other better.

“Take off your sweatpants”

“Why? A moment ago, in the living room, it was nice that way… ”

“But that’s not how you do it! Geez you talk as if you’ve never had a massage earlier” MyungSoo grabbed the rim of the leg opening and pulled at it

“Wait wait wait wait wait!” Sungyeol was holding the fabric at the waist as if his life depended on it.

MyungSoo stopped pulling but his hand was still clenched over the cloth keeping Sungyeol strangely alert.

“What’s the problem?”

“I’m not wearing any underwear”

The way Sungyeol said it made MyungSoo laugh out loud and let the sweatpants go.

“What are you laughing at, I must have forgotten to pack it before the training,” Sungyeol was already going through the chest of drawers in search for underwear.

“I thought that you don’t have secrets in the group”

“We don’t. But you will officially become the member in Busan. Besides, you’re my brother’s boyfriend”

“Does that make me some sort of a disgust or something for you?” Myungsoo chuckled and looked away seeing that the other is changing.

“Brother or friend’s boyfriend is something beyond reach, okay?” Sungyeol lied down on his stomach.

“Yeah, I see. Hey! Have you got… well, you probably don’t…”

“I do”

“Really?”

MyungSoo watched Sungyeol roll to the other side of bed and open one of the drawers before he takes out a pump bottle, half-full of body oil. MyungSoo sighs with relief internally but at the same time is surprised how they understood each other.

“The fact that I keep it here is only because I like the smell, okay?”

He passed the bottle without looking at the other who was trying to keep a straight face.

“Yeah, right. Oh! Wow! I like this one, too!” MyungSoo grinned but then he regret at the sudden realistaion “Eww! I’ll have to get rid of it now! It will remind me of you…you-“

“MyungSoo stop before you really make things worse” Sungyeol put a pillow over his head.

“Stop clenching your butt muscles, I can still see that”

“So stop being so embarrassing, will you! Oh my god!”

MyungSoo snorted and covered his hands in oil before he started the massage.

“Do you know, that all the muscles in human body are connected?”

Sungyeol made an unidentified sound under the pillow.

“Sometimes, to fully help your muscles relax in here …“ he focuses on the particularly tense part, “…you have to also focus on this muscle…” he moved up, to the thigh. Sungyeol let the pillow go and allowed himself to relax.

“This is the best thing that happened to me since I remember... How did you learn to do it so well?’

“I practised for three years at the university”

“Oh? Tell me about it” Sungyeol asked because when Myungsoo was talking, he didn’t focus so much on the pain.

Gradually, the muscles were getting more relaxed and MyungSoo’s voice was echoing softly in the background, Sungyeol doesn’t remember when he fell asleep to experience the best night in a long time.


	8. hanging out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya it's a slow burn, slowpoke-like slowburn 

In the dark room where the monitor screen was the only source of light, everything was ready to be published. The video was uploaded and awaiting the confirmation.

“Eat this, loser!”

DongWoo grabbed the mouse and was directing the cursor to the _okay_ button when he got a notification of an incoming email.

It was from the secret admirer. Dngwoo hasn’t heard from him for some time now and he has to admit that he was already missing the other. The curiosity won and before publishing the video, he opened the message.

It’s been a while, I know.

The fact that I haven’t been writing doesn’t mean that I haven’t been following what you’ve been doing.

I saw what the other's done, too.

I’m sorry that things turned out this way.

This is my message for you, and you should know that it comes straight from my heart.

You can’t be doing this to yourself.

I’m sure everybody tells you that!

Why do you insist on going? Do you, perhaps, feel that it makes you more manly or something when you give somebody a slanting? Is that what you have in you?

The good heart and cheerfulness that you’ve showed us all – isn’t that the real you?

I don’t want to see you being devoured by the negative emotions! I’m sure nobody wants to!

Just like everybody, I’m addicted to the happy virus! If it all was just a façade then I deserve to know – tell me and stay whoever you are. Just don’t make me fall for something which is not true! It’s the least bit of respect you owe me and every other fan out there!

If negativity is the motor to your work, you won’t get far. And I don’t intend to have my eyes on such a… loser.

DongWoo ruffled his hair and turned the monitor off.

*******

The evenings quickly started getting colder and colder and it definitely wasn’t to SungYeol’s liking. He had to keep his jogging sessions going and he wanted to run outside as long as he could before the weather turns really cold and he’d have to leave the park lanes to start running on the treadmill at the gym. He already does his strength training there and as much as he doesn’t mind spending time working out, even thinking about jogging on the treadmill kills him.

Due to the chilly air, the park lanes were empty and quiet so SungYeol’s heart skipped a beat when he heard somebody’s screaming.

“Star! Star, come down, please, let’s go back home!”

SungYeol stopped and tried to locate the source of the sound of whining.

“Come down right now or I’m leaving you there!”

It was coming from the right and judging by the tone the man was speaking, it was something serious. Or maybe it was a drunkard, but SungYeol remembered DongWoo’s lesson that when it’s dark and people are shouting it’s everybody’s duty to go and check it because somebody might need help.

Sungyeol trotted into the lane to his right and soon noticed a man standing under a tree and looking up and… talking to it?

“Star! I swear, the moment you come down you’re dead meat!”

“Excuse me,” SungYeol walked up closer and the other man turned to him with closed eyes and sad expression on his face. A big sigh escaped his mouth and turned into a white cloud due to the chilly weather.

“MyungSoo?” Sungyeol cautiously took a step back. Was MyungSoo a lunatic? It didn’t look like it when he was spending time with them just yesterday. The cool city guy was pointing his finger up at the tree and the curiosity won. SungYeol walked up closer to see what’s up there.

“Star,” MyungSoo whined, “she escaped while I was tying my shoe. She never does this, I have no idea what happened!”

SungYeol’s pupils dilated in sudden realisation. “You’ve got a cat?”

  
“I do, but if she doesn’t come down any minute, I won’t anymore. She’s never been like that. Hey! I won’t take you for a walk again!”

“Why can’t you just, I don’t know, climb up the tree?” SungYeol was scratching his head, looking for possible solutions. Was that a flash of pain that he saw on MyungSoo’s face?

“Just how would I look like, hm? A guy like me climbing trees in the middle of the night, what would people say?”

“What people?!” Sungyeol started laughing, “We are probably the only people here. Come on, you can do it!” he clapped MyungSoo’s butt to encourage him. “Go, go, go!”

“No way, it…it just doesn’t suit me”

After all the time that passed MyungSoo had a mental problem with his injured knee. It didn’t cause as much pain as it used to whenever he exercised or whatever but somehow, he didn’t want anyone to notice that he’s not fully capable so he avoided all kinds of activities.

“Aren’t you such a lady tsk tsk tsk, here, hold my phone”

MyungSoo opened his eyes in shock watching SungYeol walk up to the three and jump high to grab onto the nearest branch. He pulled himself up and made sure his legs are secured before he reached up towards the other branch. Soon, he was stretching his hand to get hold of the cat. “Come here, Star, come to uncle Yeollie”.

MyungSoo couldn’t believe his eyes how _his_ Star allows SungYeol to wrap his arm around her and moments later she was nestling herself in his torso as the man skilfully climbs down the tree using only one hand. SungYeol sat at the branch, handed the cat to its owner and pulled himself down carefully. When it was all over, he brushed the imaginary dust off his body and smiled at MyungSoo who froze in one place in awe. He hugged Star closer and she started meowing and looking for a way to escape his arms. “Star, what’s…wrong…with….you?” MyungSoo was trying to overcome the situation but finally he had to let his cat go and watch it bounce towards Sungyeol and brush against his legs.

“Aww you like your superhero now, don’t you?” SungYeol bent down and picked the cat up, everything happening to MyungSoo’s great surprise.

“She doesn’t do that to strangers. Star, what happened, have you fallen for him?” MyungSoo walked up to SungYeol, chuckling.

“Fathernim, please give us your blessing!” SungYeol brushed his face against the warm, grey, furry body. The cat started purring and that made the boys crack up.

“She’s my precious daughter, you will have to prove that you are good enough to deserve her”

“What should I do?”

“Are you serious? Because I’m not giving you my cat”

“Looks like she doesn’t give a damn about your opinion,” SungYeol poked his tongue out and started walking along.

“SungYeol? Star? Wait up!”

MyungSoo quickly found himself next to the cat stealer, “That’s not the right direction to my house!”

“Because I’m going to mine. And, you are coming with me, right?” He kissed the cat on the head and Star closed her eyes and purred some more. MyungSoo couldn’t believe his eyes. It was cold, his cat had no interest in him and with every step they were getting further away from his house. How worse can it be?

“SungYeol, you can’t take her home!” for his last resort MyungSoo decided to stomp his feet like a little boy.

“Why? Let me play with it for a while and then we can call DaeYeol to drive you back home,”

“We can’t!”

“Why?”

“Daeyeol… he’s allergic,” Myungsoo dropped his shoulders.

“Oh really?” SungYeol started laughing, “I’ve never heard of that before!”

“Besides, you have no litter, no food. She can’t eat human food.”

“We can buy it in a convenience shop!”

“But-“

“MyungSoo~” SungYeol was interrupted by MyungSoo’s phone call and seeing that MyungSoo’s going to answer it, SungYeol grinned and picked up the pace.

When they arrived at SungYeol’s apartment, Myungsoo thew all the shopping on the kitchen counter and Star jumped off SungYeol’s arms to explore the new environment.

“It’s a cat!”

They heard Hoya from the living room.

“Why is Hoya here?” MyungSoo wondered out loud.

“Nice, isn’t it? My living room turned to be our usual place to hang out,”

“But it’s like eleven in the evening?”

“I am shocked more when I come back and there’s nobody here rather than seeing them guys at different hours of the day and night. Pour yourself something to drink. I need to shower quickly.”

MyungSoo walked up into the living-room to find Hoya smooching the fluffy grey ball on his lap. Hoya grinned his teeth, “Did you convince him into getting himself a cat?”

“Actually, it’s my cat”

“Oh? Did you sell him your cat?” Hoya leaned closer to the cat, “Are you that naughty that your owner decided to sell you?”

“No, it’s when I was in the park…” and MyungSoo continued the whole story.

When SungYeol came out, the boys were playing _quick and extremely angry_ passionately. Hoya was standing and needlessly maneuvering his whole body while taking turns with his car.

SungYeol fell onto the empty spot next to MyungSoo, and Star immediately jumped on him and started licking his wet strands of hair.

“Heyyy cutie!” SungYeol kissed the cat on the mouth

“I think you have just lost your cat, MyungSoo,” Hoya had an amazing ability to see everything around him even when his eyes are glued solely to the screen.

MyungSoo had to turn his head to see what’s happening even though SungYeol was next to him. “Oh, find yourselves a room, will you?” he urged and made them all laugh at the comment.“More than me losing my cat, it’s like you guys just lost SungYeol”

“He once had a hamster…” Hoya grinned.

“Hoya, come on!” SungYeol whined and was trying to knock out the controller from Hoya’s grip but the man swiftly maneuvered his hands and was still in the game, and so was the controller in his hands.

“So he had a hamster,” Hoya continued, “and it was a hell…” he laughed, “…he took it everywhere! It was even walking on the table while we’re having a meal together”

MyungSoo only laugh out loud and watched Sungyeol without trying to hide his surprise.

“And we had to take it to every game he was playing. Once, when there’s a break, he walked up and took it from SungKyu and kissed it”

“I saw that!” MyungSoo laughed again excitedly “it was all over the Internet!”

“Yeah! And one day SungYeol fed the poor thing with kimchi, because you know…” he mocked Sungyeol’s voice, “..it’s a part of the family! We should let him eat whatever we are eating”

“Sungyeol! Really?” Myungsoo watched the tallest scratching his nape and smiling innocently.

“I was young and stupid,” he finally shrugged his shoulders.

“And now you’re older, but sill stupid”

“Isn’t he smarter than before?”

“I’d say he’s even more stupid” Hoya opened his mouth and laughed soundlessly.

Myungsoo clapped his hands laughing.

“I know now, that you shouldn’t feed your pets with spicy foods.”

“You killed it!” Hoya accused

“It was unintentional! I didn’t know he’d die because of spicy cabbage! It’s a _vegetable_ after all!”

“And we are all witnesses, MyungSoo. Can you imagine that nobody said a word to the police?”

MyungSoo pretended that he was shocked and he covered his mouth,“That’d ruin his career!”

“See how much we love him?”

Sungyeol walked up and sold a playful kick onto Hoya’s butt as the dancer was half-lying on his elbows with his butt sticking out.

“Don’t you dare do it again, or I’ll tell the police on you!” Hoya turned around and even though he was still on the floor, his legs were up, ready to fight; he was grinning like crazy and so was Sungyeol when, with the tips of his toes he kicked Hoya’s butt lightly.

“You’re so dead, man!” Hoya got up while Sungyeol was already retreating, jumping over the sofa where he thought he was safe but to his surprise, instead of chasing him around the sofa, Hoya was ready to jump over it too. Sungyeol screamed and ran towards the kitchen with Hoya bolting after. As if that wasn’t enough, the cat decided to take part in the running, too. Luckily, Sungyeol and Hoya decided that chasing the cat would be far more interesting than chasing each other, besides, the catto was clearly in a playful mode.

Myungsoo was watching all this laughing at their antics – especially when Hoya and Sungyeol almost bumped against each other while throwing themselves on the cat from the opposite sides while Star gracefully pounced her way out of the collective attack. The two chasers hugged each other to cushion the bump. Star found her way onto Myungsoo’s lap and nestled herself there. “Tired already? Do you want to go home?”

“Go where?” Hoya pushed Sungyeol away and turned to Myungsoo, “Let’s eat together, I’m starving!”

“Good idea!” Sungyeol immediately hugged Hoya from behind and, glued like that, they walked towards the sofa and the way Sungyeol’s cheek brushed against Hoya’s head turned out so endearing in Myungsoo’s eyes because it reminded him of himself; Sungyeol’s face was definitely showing signs of the man’s exhaustion after a long day and Myungsoo imagined that, just like him, Sungyeol recharges his batteries by skinship. Of course that couldn’t be true because Sungyeol doesn’t look like the type who would actually benefit anyhow from skinship but by imagining that, Myungsoo felt that, maybe, he actually could blend in nicely in the group.

“Let’s eat out!” Sungyeol jumped while supporting himself on Hoya’s arms

“I don’t think it’s convenient with the cat,” Myungsoo pointed his thumb at Star

“Let’s have ramen!” Hoya grinned

“Only a little bit,” Sungyeol agreed even though ramen was on the very top of not-to-eat-ever foods list prepared by his coach

“Seriously?” Hoya looked at the tallest, “Do I have to write it in my-“

Myungsoo cracked up, “Oh my god, Hoya what’s with you and your diary, seriously?!”

Hoya shrugged his shoulders, his smile still plastered to his face, “You know, one day, when we’re old and serious, when our minds would fail, we could sit together and reminisce on everything and I’m sure my diary would be priceless then”

“You just want to be in the spotlight, even for a moment”

“I’ll be there sooner than you think”

“Where? In the spotlight or in the moment when your mind is going to fail?” Sungyeol grinned

“Are you trying to say that you don’t believe in me?”

“Of course I do, ” Sungyeol threw his arm around Hoya and the other man smiled proudly before the smirk disappear off his face as Sungyeol finished, “for now, because I want you to make the ramen”

“Fuck you!” Hoya grinned and pushed the taller, who was already laughing hard, away.

Myungsoo got up and on his way to the kitchen, he turned to Sungyeol with a grin on his face, “You’re an asshole!”

Hoya cracked up and gave Myungsoo a high-five before they walked together to the kitchen leaving Sungyeol behind, “Does your boyfriend know that you’re a bully?!” he quickly got up and ran to get his revenge on Myungsoo. “Does he know? Does he? Tell me, huh? Myungsoo!” Sungyeol pulled the younger’s arm

“Who’s bullying who, huh?!” Myungsoo asked raising his voice and pointing at his sleeve being pulled by Yeol

“I’m sorry!” Sungyeol let the fabric go immediately, “You two prepare it and I’ll just have a tiny bite, okay?”

“Don’t agree, Myungsoo!” Hoya laughed as he was adding flavours to the boiling water, “he’s revealed his intentions too early and now he’ll pay the price!”

“That’s right! Go away, you dumbass,” Myungsoo cracked up and pushed the taller away, “I’m done talking with you!”

“As if I was going to eat this trash with you in the first place! I don’t need this…” he swallowed, “…this wonderfully-looking awfulness!!!”

“Great! There’s more for the two of us then!”

“Awww, I’m so hungry!”

“It’s almost ready!” Hoya grinned and Myungsoo walked up to smell it

“Oh, this is heaven!”

“Is it?” Sungyeol bit his knuckles and craned trying to smell anything from the distance

“Myungsoo, grab the spoons from the drawer!”

Sungyeol couldn’t take it any longer, “Wow, guys you are really so skilled in cooking and so good-looking too!! Seriously, you could be running a cooking programme!”

Myungsoo cracked up and Hoya, already indifferent to fake praise, grabbed the pot to put it on the counter, “Let’s dig in-”

“Guys! Come on! Share some with me! Don’t be heartless!”

“Go away, Sungyeol, you can’t eat it after all,” Hoya blocked the taller’s way to to pot.

“But I’d take just a tiny bite, nobody’s going to even notice! Hm? Hoya~~ Howonnie~~ Ahhh~” Sungyeol stood there with his mouth open,

“Forget about it,”

Sungyeol pouted and looked at Myungsoo: “Myung? Soo?”

Myungsoo chuckled and was trying to stay tough but the big, pleading doe eyes were too much

“Okay, come here,” he smiled seeing how Sungyeol’s face brightened up

“Loser” Hoya murmured but, amused, he watched Sungyeol being fed by the other while he devours the noodles himself.

“Thank you, Myungsoo, I will never call you names again… if you feed me some more,” he sang showing his gums in a smile.

“Here, say ah,” Myungsoo smiled, “but it’s the last one, okay? I heard that you can’t eat such things”

“Last one?” Sungyeol rubbed his hands and blinked his eyes

“Go away,”

“Please,”

“You’re such a baby,” Hoya slurped the noodles theatrically and gasped

“Look who’s talking!” Sungyeol scrunched and turned to Myungsoo, “Hm?” he walked closer and hugged the younger from the back making him feel uncomfortable therefore quickly passing him his own spoon to get rid of the feeling, “h-here”

Hoya got a laughing seizure, partly because of Myungsoo reaction and partly because of Sungyeol throwing himself at the pot.

They ended up unfolding the sofa and lying there mindlessly looking at the tv screen; there was some variety show rerun at that time.

Hoya chuckled when one of the participants fell into the hole while running with a tray on his head, where a pot full of water was sitting.

“Maybe, instead of writing things in a diary I should record our meetings”

Sungyeol giggled and grabbed Hoya by the arm, “no, please, when would we have time to watch it later?”

“Imagine Dongwoo editing it all into a film one day,” Myungsoo looked at his friends who laughed hard:

“That film would probably last a good few days!”

“no, please, when would we have time to watch it?”

“Sungyeol aren’t you repeating yourself?”

“I really don’t think we’ll have time for all that”

“What else will you have to do while you’re old?”

“When you won’t be playing basketball”

“I’d be spending time with my lover”

“Awww that’s so cute!” Myungsoo hugged the cushion he was holding to.

“Have you met your lover yet?”

“Nope,” Sungyeol looked at the tv smiling

“Hey! What’s with this smile?” Hoya got up, “why do you look so sure? Tell us come on!”

“I’m telling the truth! I haven’t met anyone! And I’m sure that I’ll find someone one day. After all, please guys, this killer looks is killer” he pointed his thumbs at himself making Hoya crack up

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing”

“Myungsoo, tell me, don’t I look good?” he made a muscle and motioned with his head encouragingly for the other to feel it.

“Do you want your _only one_ as you call them to fall for your muscles instead of who you are?”

“Just touch it and even you’ll fall for me!”

  
Hoya grabbed his stomach in a laughing seizure and Myungsoo touched Yeol’s bicep just to make the other stop and next moment Myungsoo didn’t notice when Sungyeol’s arm was around his neck and the other was pulling him closer so that his head was resting on his chest. He did the same thing with Hoya and sighed:

“I’m just kidding, I hope you know that”

“You can deceive Myungsoo, but not me! Don’t trust him, Myungsoo!”

They spent the evening playing and talking just like that before the drowsiness ambushed them.

*

Myungsoo was glad that Daeyeol approached him first one day; in fact, he even dread to think that that man was the only good thing that happened to him in his life. He lived for the moments they shared together, especially the intimate ones. It was something like a therapy for him as it helped him cleanse his mind - all his worries, big or small, just disappear for a short while and he feels lighthearted; besides, making love simply makes him feel loved; there was time when he avoided people on purpose, he felt embarrassed that in one moment everything was snatched from him; but then all kinds of kisses on his skin and the hugs and the closeness of another person - it all makes him recharge his batteries. Every time of the day and night is good but he’s especially keen on doing it in the morning. Unfortunately, Daeyeol is a heavy sleeper and Myungsoo doesn’t have heart to wake him up whenever they stay together for the night.

  
This morning, however, he woke up to _certain something_ poking him at the butt as he’s being spooned by his lover. He smiled at himself at how nice it felt to be woken up like this and stuck his butt out a little to tease his lover back.

He opened his eyes and realized that he wasn’t in his own bed. He tried to remember if he didn’t take part in any crazy party last night but he couldn’t. Besides that’s not like him. Anyways, still, with all the lustful things on his mind, he turned around to wake up his _needy_ sleepyhead with a kiss and it was exactly when he almost got a heart attack. He screamed in surprise and pushed Sungyeol off him waking him up in the process.

“Where’s the fire?” the other rubbed his eyes and Myungsoo was watching him with his eyes as big as saucepans and heavy breathing;

“W-what?”

“Wasn’t somebody screaming?” Sungyeol was turning to lie on his back and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He looked as if he was lying in a coffin and Myungsoo snorted involuntarily.

“Where’s Hoya?”

“Probably practising,” Sungyeol covered his eyes with his arm and his breathing become stable almost in an instant as he fell back asleep.

Myungsoo looked at the clock - it was only a few minutes past six. His heart slowed down a little but he wasn’t sure if he could go back to sleep. Or more like if he even should go back to sleep next to this man because – what the heck was that a moment ago? The feeling of him pushing his buttcheeks onto Sungyeol’s bulge… He started hitting his head to get rid of the flashback. But how come he didn’t recognize…? He shook his head and hit himself some more and then, for the second time this morning, he got a heart attack when Sungyeol’s alarm clock went off.

When Sungyeol crawled out of his slumber back to reality and his eyes got accustomed to the dark he asked with a husky voice:

“Myungsoo?”

“H-hi” Myungsoo felt the embarrassment hitting him back

“Where is Hoya?” the taller sat up and looked around

“Didn’t you say he went practising?”

“Ah, maybe he went practising”

Myungsoo chuckled, “Seriously” he watched the other get up probably unaware of anything

“You can stay in if you want to, it’s still early…” Sungyeol stretched his arms and Myungsoo couldn’t help but peeked at the little skin showing from under Sungyeol’s t-shirt.

“I’ll get going, too”

“You think so? If so, I’m going to the swimming pool, maybe I can give you a lift somewhere in that direction?”

“I-”

“I take it as yes”

Soon, they were in the car. Myungsoo was still feeling uncomfortable and since Sungyeol wasn’t speaking much in between his yawns, Myungsoo noticed:

“It’s so early and yet the streets are kind of crowded already”

“It’s normal at this hour, it seems to me that you aren’t an early bird, hm?”

“I like to sleep late when I can”

“Sometimes, when it gets cold, and I still run outside, the streets can be pretty empty… it’s creepy… it sometimes makes me imagine I’m the only person on the Earth”

“Just you and zombies, huh?” Myungsoo chuckled and Sungyeol grinned

“Exact sort of a thing... it makes me wonder just how long would I survive if that was true”

“It depends on the amount of food you could hoard… and how you would defend yourself, I guess”

“What would your choice of weapon be? To defend yourself?” Sungyeol forgot about drowsiness for good

“Mine? Hmmm… I’m not sure, but maybe a flame thrower? I would burn them down!”

“I used to think about that, too, but you know while hours spent on running on my own I developed a nice tactics”

“Really? What is it?”

“Well, it has a flaw tho”

“Oh come on, tell me!” Myungsoo grinned, “Why? What is it?”

“Because it’s a world where I’m the last person against them, right? But for my tactics there’s one more person needed”

“Who? Come on, you like people to beg you, don’t you”

“Me? What? Hell no, what makes you think this way?”

“I don’t know”

“If you don’t know then don’t say such things”

“I can say whatever I want to”

“Not in my car”

“The hell? And what is it? A place of cult or something? Pfff give me a break”

“I’m not the one calling you haughty in your own car”

“I didn’t say anything like that! Why are you making things up? Geez! How old are you? Seven?”

“I’m old enough to read between the lines, man!”

“Well, congratulations! This time you didn’t show off your ability!”

“Get off my back, will you?”

“So stop building the fucking suspense and tell me the frigging tactics already!”

“Ah! That’s right! I thought about...” he grinned, “I don’t know why, it just-“

“To the point, please! Oh, you can drop me off over there” Myungsoo pointed at a place with his finger

“Ah, okay, so I thought about introducing Dongwoo to them”

Myungsoo burst out laughing without even hearing the reason why Dongwoo was the so-called great tactics. He only imagined the happy virus in front of the zombie hoard and the vision was so surreal that he was sure it was going to make his day.

“Zombie are stupid right, if I pronounced Dongwoo their King they would listen to him, wouldn’t they?” Sungyeol grinned and took a quick glance over Myungsoo before he looked back at the road

“Definitely”

“Yeah”

“Which means…”

“We have to protect DongWoo at all cost”

“How did you know?”

“It’s my tactics after all, isn’t it?”

Myungsoo looked at the other in disbelief that just a second ago the other just spoke his mind and it kind of felt creepy. He was watching Sungyeol closely when the latter pulled over and smiled, “We’re here. It’s your drop-off place, right?”

Myungsoo looked around quickly and nodded, “Thanks”

“Don’t mention it”

Myungsoo closed the door and said goodbye with a gesture of lifting his hand; He watched Sungyeol saluted him before he drove off. He then checked the time wondering if the shop next to his block of flats is already open so that he could do the grocery shopping. But then he halt dead in his trucks and cracked up in the middle of the sidewalk. Is Sungyeol really _that_ stupid? If zombies are no-brainers then why wouldn’t he pronounce the king himself? Why would he need Dongwoo for that? He noticed some people staring at him with strange expressions and so, still giggling and with the tears of laughter slightly obstructing his view, he trotted towards the shop.


	9. the Busan thingy

DaeYeol’s never liked compromises. He’s reached high and liked to show off.

He worked hard at the university to graduate with distinction and later become successful and so he wants to squeeze as much of the successful life as he can. His electronics is always the state-of-art. His clothes come from the highest shelf. He buys the most expensive drinks at the most expensive places because he can. He worked for it hard so he will play hard now.

But it doesn’t satisfy him to the point he’d be contend with; despite his young age he’s already learned that life can bring you surprises that you could never be ready to accept.

Most of the time, he feels tired because of all the work he does every day. He does it in order not to lose his sanity.

When he goes out, he needs to have somebody with him, somebody who’d fit the standards. Or rather, somebody who would fill up the great hole in his heart…

One day, during his lunch break, he walked into a café to get himself some coffee – he had been partying all weekend (the second thing to distract him from his misery despite his career blooming) and was dying on Monday.

And there it was. Or rather _he_ was.

A perfect face, shiny hair and…yes! Ideal, white and healthy smile. It’s somebody Daeyeol had been looking for to help him go through the days. He couldn’t afford to miss the chance:

“Two black coffees to take away, please”

“That’s 11,000 W”

“Could you write something on the cups?”

“Of course, what do you want me to write?”

The voice is also nice. He’s perfect.

“DaeYeol. And on the other… mister handsome”

“Mister?”

“Exactly”

“Okay~

“Here you are”

“Thanks and… here you are,” DaeYeol handed the café attendant the other cup. “Will you find a moment to drink it with me, Mister handsome? I’m DaeYeol, but you already know that,” he stretched his hand to greet the other with a sincere but tired smile on his face.

“MyungSoo,” the other man smiled shyly as they energetically shook hands.

***

“The last one on top is an errand boy for the rest of the day!” WooHyun screamed and rushed forward.

“Oh,” MyungSoo took a step backwards and accidentally bumped into SungKyu who’s behind him, “I’m sorry” he bowed slightly with strange emptiness reflecting in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” SungKyu placed his hand on MyungSoo’s shoulder and watched him carefully.

“I’m… not going up, I’m sorry”

“What?!” Hoya trotted backwards to make sure that he heard it correctly

“I mean, I… can’t go up”

“What’s the matter, are you scared of heights?” SungYeol flashed his gums in a smile happy that maybe he could use this piece of information in the future to pester on the other. Boys loved dissing one another.

“WooHyun! Come back! That’s a falstart! A falstart!” SungJong roared and Dongwoo bent his knees in laughter while observing WooHyun trudging back with his shoulders dropped which made him look like a zombie.

“What this time?! I’ve lost all the energy for that professional pacemaker-like start and won’t have a chance to come first now!”

“I’m sorry, Woohyun,” MyungSoo started and Sungyeol interrupted:

“Myungsoo is afraid of heights”

“What?” Woohyun chuckled

“I’m not! Sungyeol!”

“Okay, if you’re not, let’s go then!” Woohyun was about to start running again but was stopped by Hoya grabbing his t-shirt from behind.

“Don’t pay attention to this moron and tell us what the problem is,” SungKyu sent a cold stare towards WooHyun who pretended that he received a bullet into his heart which, to surprise of everybody (even the man in question) made the oldest snort with short laughter for a second but he immediately regained his composure. WooHyun tried hard to keep a straight face because of SungKyu’s reaction and since it was a hard thing to do (as such behaviour gave him hope for the future) he was happy that the focus came back onto Myungsoo.

MyungSoo focused on one thought in his mind. He breathed out loud through his nose and shook his head; his stare was blank which made the others worry.

“Ah, this is so hard…” he smiled, but it was a sad smile, “…In the past… I injured my knee really badly and…” he scratched his head, “ah, I hate it, it’s like being an old person you know…” he bowed apologetically as if it was his fault that he is that way, “…I can’t do many things because the pain gets unbearable then… and walking up and down the hills is kind of… one of the things that really strain the knees you know…”

“That sucks, man,” Hoya made a sour face as he thought that if he had injured his knee and couldn’t dance anymore he’d probably die.

“Aigo, we didn’t know…”

“Myungsoo, I’m sorry I laughed at you being afraid of heights”

“It’s okay, you didn’t know. But don’t worry guys, I’ll just wait for you here, don’t mind me, really.”

“No way, MyungSoo! We’re not leaving you!”

“Dongwoo’s right!”

“Come on guys, really, it looked as if you were really looking forward to this trip, please, don’t give up your plans because of me!”

“Myungsoo, our plan was to come here with you,” SungKyu grinned when he saw all them boys grinning too, as everybody knew what awaits them up there. Well, everybody but MyungSoo.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors and the loser will give MyungSoo a piggyback ride to the top!” Hoya flashed his fangs and Dongwoo couldn’t help but laugh because of the excitement. Everybody quickly grinned too since everybody liked a challenge and this time winning would really taste sweet, especially when they could watch somebody struggle to bring Myungsoo to the very top of the hill.

“No!No!No!” Myungsoo was panicking and at the same time cracking up at the idiocy of the Hoya’s plan.

“Has anyone heard anything?” WooHyun asked theatrically and everybody agreed that they didn’t hear a word of objection which made MyungSoo squat down and ruffle his own hair in despair.

When the rest of the boys formed a circle to play the game, and they measured one another with fierce stares, SungKyu allowed himself to speak out what was on everybody’s mind:

“Okay, SungJong, get out!” He pushed the youngest in the chest playfully making him leave the circle, which didn’t go down without the youngest objections, who was pretending to roll up his sleeves, ready to fight back:

“What? Why?!”

“Myungsoo, no offence but…” Hoya turned to Sungjong, “… we know you wouldn’t make it, okay? That’s okay, we’re not making fun, okay?”

“SungJong, he’s right, no offence, hm?”

“I’m gonna kill you all one day! And! Don’t you dare sell what’s just happened to Daeyeol, got it?!” SungJong pointed at everybody aggressively.

“Okay!” they chanted like scouts but when Sungjong wasn’t looking they exchanged mischievous glances. “Let’s start!”

WooHyun moved his hand close to SungKyu’s mouth, “Blow on it for luck, please”

“Go away~”

MyungSoo turned his back on the boys - he didn’t want to look at his fate being decided upon a game.

After the first round, Dongwoo was out laughing like crazy and performing a crazy dance before squatting next to Sungjong.

A moment later, just after the second round of the game, the winners cheered loudly. Hoya, Sungkyu and Woohyun were jumping joyfully with their arms around one another.

Sungyeol walked up to MyungSoo and pulled him by the hand to help him get up from the ground. “Your carriage is here, get on”

“This is so humiliating,” Myungsoo murmured while still looking away.

“Come on, it’s only a short walk from here, you won’t even notice when we’ll be on the top! Here, hold my sweatshirt for me,”

MyungSoo took the sweatshirt and got onto SungYeol’s back. Noticing that, the rest of the boys got ready for the race.

“Yah! It’s a given that me and Myungsoo come last! We aren’t serving no one!”

“You are out of the competition” Sungkyu showed them thumbs up;

“Of course,” Woohyun grinned.

“How’s your horsey, Myungsoo?” Hoya walked past the two and flashed his fangs in a grin

“Go, stallion!” DongWoo clapped Myungsoo’s sticking butt hard and the race to the top started.

It didn’t take long until SungYeol and Myungsoo lost the boys from their sight.

“I’m sorry, I’m such a burden to you…”

“What are you talking about?! Everybody likes you, you are one of us now and even though we diss and prank one another, I’m sure everyone would go through fire and water for the rest”

“Talking about water, why is everybody so excited?”

SungYeol chuckled, “DaeYeol really didn’t tell you anything?”

MyungSoo shrugged his shoulders to the extent he could while his hands still hanging over SungYeol’s shoulders, “Not a word,” Myungsoo sighed, “He knows how to keep a secret”

“That’s true…”

MyungSoo rested his chin on SungYeol’s shoulder. Physical contact never fails to make him feel better. He thought about how nice it is to know that they decided not to leave him alone. At the same time, the group was able to keep its dynamics, too, as there was one person picked to look after him. It felt less burdensome for him that way. He breathes in the brisk air and discovers the subtle smell of SungYeol’s scent.

Sungyeol, on the other hand, found himself tensing up at the contact – he hardly knew Myungsoo, besides, he was his brother’s boyfriend. However, he doesn’t remember when was the last time he shared physical contact with anyone. Of course hugging and wrestling with them boys was one thing, but it was different. Sometimes, just sometimes, when he allows himself to drown in thoughts he gets jealous about his brother and his mysterious ability to get to know many attractive people. Take Myungsoo for example – Sungyeol wishes he could be so good-looking too. Ah, for a moment he got carried away but the thought about Myungsoo made him realise that the man in question is riding on his back and now, that he was back from his thoughts he felt a little awkward so he spoke up the first thing that came to his mind:

“MyungSoo, how did it happen that you injured your knee so badly?” he felt Myungsoo sighing right next to his ear which gave him little shivers.

“Do you remember, some time ago, when we met for the first time - when we were… expressing our opinions about Bryant-“

“Ah, although I can’t agree with you when it comes to him, it was nice to have a debate on that; oh, your arguments were really substantive, the conversation made me feel as if I was talking to a teammate so, of course I remember, what does that have to do with your knee?”

“Well, when I was in high school, I played for the school team…”

“I see.”

“My team played in national school championships.”

“When you were in high school? What year was that?”

“Hmmm… It’s nine or ten years ago?”

“Oh, and how far did your team get to?”

“Finals”

“What?!” SungYeol stopped and let MyungSoo get off him for a while, “what was the name of your team?”

“Rascals from DukSoo high school; but what happened? You look as if you saw a ghost,” MyungSoo chuckled, “Do you need a break?”

“Perhaps… your team must have beaten mine in the semi-finals! Do you remember? Seowon High school! Am I right?”

“Oh? How did you know?”

“Are you kidding me? I played for that team!” SungYeol pointed both his indexes at himself, “but in your team, there was also a guy who had already been offered a contract with a professional club! Am I right?”

“Yeah that’s true and-”

  
“And, man! I was so frustrated when he scored back then! We didn’t have a chance! Your team tricked us!!! What was his name again…?”

“Uhm, that was me,”

SungYeol started laughing, “Impossible! That would have to mean that-“ his face turned all serious, “I heard that he didn’t play in the finals because…”

MyungSoo lifted his leg and pointed at his knee, “…because of this”

“Holly…! MyungSoo, they had already promised you the contract…” SungYeol covered his mouth with his fist and his eyes almost popped out.

“I lost everything the moment I helped my team win their way to the finals” Myungsoo spread his arms in a gesture of helplessness.

“That must’ve been-“

“It still is,”

“I’m so sorry,”

“That’s okay,” MyungSoo faked a smile, “ah, why does it suddenly feel so gloomy? Let’s quickly go to the top to see the sun rays!” he grabbed Sungyeol by the shoulders and turned him around so that he could jump on his back again.

“That’s right! What time is it? Has everybody reached the top already? What do you think, Myungsoo?”

“I wonder what is the reason for this trip…”

SungYeol giggled, “Ah, you’ll see! It will surely help to clear your mind!”

“That doesn’t help at all! This way I’m only getting more anxious…”

“Oh! We’re almost there!” SungYeol picked up the pace a little and a moment later they reached the top. Sungyeol let Myungsoo go and they looked around. The boys were laughing at something and SungKyu was sitting on a rock with his chin supported on his clenched fists. There was definitely a gloomy aura around him.

“I guess we have a loser,” Sungyeol said to Myungsoo before he marked their presence with calling the boys and waving his hand.

“Sungyeol, Myungsoo, it feels like it’s my birthday today!” SungJong laughed but a moment later he was massaging his head in a place where WooHyun hit him with an open palm “Ouch!”  
“Don’t you dare overuse your power, got it?” the greasy guy warned.

“What took you so long?”

“It wasn’t that long though, SungKyu arrived a moment ago,”

And everybody bursted out laughing at Hoya’s diss towards the oldest.

“Let’s not waste the time! Maybe we could get two rounds!”

“What a dreamer!”

“Wait, what rounds? What are you talking about? Will anyone inform me please?” Myungsoo lifted his hand up to grab the necessary attention.

Hoya started taking off his shoes and SungJong walked up to MyungSoo and hit him slightly on the chest with the back of his palm, “Jump out of your clothes,” and to MyungSoo’s surprise, the youngest started taking off his sweatshirt.

MyungSoo looked at the boys, shocked. WooHyun was shirtless already, jumping on his one leg while trying to get rid of his skinny jeans.

“What the-?”

“Come on! We wanna see your abs,” DongWoo patted MyungSoo’s butt as he was walking past wearing only shorts and walking towards the railing.

MyungSoo’s heart almost stopped when he saw Dongwoo going over the railing.

Next moment Sungjong followed the other and when MyungSoo turned his head he saw Hoya warming up his arms as he walks towards the railing, too.

Suddenly, MyungSoo got it. They went here, all the way up, to make him think that they are going to jump down the cliff. He laughed out loud and turned towards Sungyeol, “Okay, you can tell them to stop now, I’m not gonna fall for that!”

  
SungYeol looked at him with a serious face, “fall for what? Are you going to do this with your clothes on?”

Both Sungyeol and Myungsoo broke the eye contact at the sudden nagging:

“Guys, come on! Hurry up! It’s cold in here!”

“MyungSoo, are you chickening out?”

  
  


Myungsoo sensed some kind of a prank in it from the very beginning. He’s gonna undress and then WooHyun and SungKyu, who are standing a little behind, are going to take his clothes somewhere and then they’re going to make him walk down without his clothes on. But, on the other hand, if he doesn’t take them off they are gong to call him chicken from now on, and as much as MyungSoo managed to get to know them, they might not give up on calling him a coward, like, ever.

With the corner of his eye he noticed WooHyun, who, with his hands on his sides, was watching SungKyu as if he’d never seen him before and trying to keep a straight face.

SungKyu threw a shoe at the other, but Woohyun caught it and pretended that he found something inside the shoe which turned out to be a finger heart which he threw at SungKyu.

MyungSoo snorted at the sight and decided that he had no other choice but to get undressed, if he wants to have some peace among the boys.

They started cheering and screaming some words of praise as they watch MyungSoo undress. He walked up to them trying to keep the straightest face possible but when DongWoo started singing 2pm’s 10 out of 10 and the rest danced along and clapped their hands to the rhythm happily they looked like they were having the time of their lives.

“DaeYeol knew what to choose,” Hoya sold a playful punch towards MyungSoo’s stomach and pulled him by the neck to give him a half-hug.

“Okay, okay,” SungYeol went in between the two, “while my brother is absent, I’m taking care of him, understood?”

He embraced MyungSoo with his arm protectively.

“I’m not sure if DaeYeol would approve that, though”

“Why? After all, nobody’s gonna tell him, right?”

“Guys, it’s really getting cold, let’s go!” SungJong was already shaking

“Yeah! Let’s go”

“Here we go!”

  
“See you down there!”

MyungSoo screamed in shock as he saw SungJong jumping down the cliff: “NO!”

Without looking at anything, he rushed to the edge and looked down. The height made him feel dizzy. There was just a splash left after the other jumped in and a second later the water was hitting the rocks as if nothing happens - the white foam forming at the contact. And then, Sungjong’s head appeared on the surface and the boy swam towards the adjacent rock wall to make space for the other boys.

MyungSoo hardly managed to turn around to the rest when somebody flashed past him and a moment later he heard another splash.

“You… are… nuts…,” he murmured to himself with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

“Try it yourself and you’ll change your mind,” SungKyu took a few steps and waved at the rest before jumping down.

MyungSoo jerks at WooHyun’s sudden words, somewhere behind him: “I can hold your hand if you want to”

DongWoo laughed like crazy.

“N-no, thanks,” MyungSoo murmured trying to grasp the situation. They were jumping off the freaking cliff as if it was a pool jump. He is so gonna kill Daeyeol for talking him into coming here plus, he knows now why the latter didn’t come. How he didn’t enjoy himself that day they spent in the theme park. Well, well, well.

Only DongWoo and Sungyeol were left on the cliff with him.

“You will do it, won’t you?”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?!”

“Told you we would walk after one another through water and fire,” Sungyeol grinned/

“F-fire?” Myungsoo dreaded to think what other crazy ideas they might have had in store.

DongWoo laughed and patted MyungSoo’s shoulder, “Come on, we are not that crazy”

“We wouldn’t have taken you here if it wasn’t safe”

DongWoo nodded in confirmation.

“Do you want to go before us?”

“I-“ MyungSoo looked down again and gulped. He saw the boys splashing water over one another and playing while waiting for the rest to jump down.

“Hoya took ten minutes before he decided to jump for the first time”

“And how much time has passed now?” MyungSoo asked feeling the adrenaline bloating inside of him like a balloon. Only then has he noticed that Dongwoo’s wearing a sports watch and is probably checking the time.

“Six minutes and fifty-four, fifty-five…”

MyungSoo gulped. He looked at DongWoo who was telling the time but he didn’t hear a thing now. He saw SungYeol with a curious expression on his face taking a peek at DongWoo’s watch.

And he can’t lose to Hoya.

It felt as if the time moved slower. He forgot about his knee, his everyday life, he even forgot about Daeyeol. There was only the wind, the rocks under his feet and his beating heart.

He forced his eyes open in order to monitor the moment of jumping forward and the next thing he remembers was the busy water surface growing bigger and bigger as he’s getting closer to it.

It wasn’t cold at all.

When he found his way back onto the surface and felt the brisk air in his hair, he couldn’t tell why he was grinning involuntarily – was it the fact that he survived? The fact that he met the challenge? Or was it because it felt amazing to do crazy things with the group of dorks who were, just right now, waving at him and cheering?

He swam towards them and earned a few pats on his back and his head and next moment Sungyeol and Dongwoo were with them all beaming and cheering, “MyungSoo! MyungSoo!” DongYeol grabbed Myungsoo’s hands supportively to show respect.

Hoya, who was sensing some ridicule creeping from the corner decided to take the floor; his teeth chatter as he speaks: “let’s go out, it’s seriously getting cold in here”

“And we need to climb up to fetch the clothes!”

Suddenly, everybody looked at SungKyu who started defending himself forcefully, “No way! Okay, maybe, forget the clothes, but bringing down six pairs of shoes? It’s impossible”

“I’ll go with you!”

“Thank you,” SungKyu buried his head into Woohyun’s shoulder pretending that he’s crying.

“I-I-I’ll g-g-go, t-t-t-oo! If we run we’ll w-w-warm ourselves up-p-p-p”

“Ah, and we’ll wear our clothes quicker, I’ll go t-too!” Sungjong raised his hand

“Sorry guys,” Dongwoo clasped his hands together in an apologetic gesture, “I wanna put on something warm, too”

“OKAY! Sungyeol, you go as w-well!” MyungSoo shouted encouragingly, “I’mmmmm not cold at-t all and will wwwwait for you here!”

“Are you kidding me? I’m staying with you!”

“Guys, you can argue here to your hearts content, we’ll be going up first! Bye!”

“Yeah! Bye!”

“See you!”

“We promise to be back soon!”

One by one, everybody swam to the shore and soon, they disappear from the sight.

“I’m a ball and chain” Myungsoo murmured

“Don’t say that! Come on! Let’s swim to the shore in three…two…hey! Hey! I didn’t say one!!!!” Sungyeol went after the other wondering how it’s possible that Myungsoo blended in so well – he even dared to cheat right now and start before the cue!

Myungsoo was laughing when he watched Sungyeol lumbering along onto the shore. For a moment, he forgot about the cold since his muscles were warmed-up because of swimming. “WOW! Cheating is so much fun! Why have I been complying with the rules all my life?!”

“You really, really deserve to be in the group!” Sungyeol grinned and then let out a long scream because of the cold wind making him feel as if his skin was burning. Myungsoo followed right after. “It’s the second part of Octoberrrrr! Whose idea was it? I’ll kill them with my bare hands!”

“I’ll help you! I’m so cold!”

Sungyeol got out of water completely and was shivering next to the other who was already jumping from one leg to the other.

“Sungyeol, let’s pretend that it didn’t happen,”

Before the other managed to react anyhow Myungsoo was clinging to the taller with his arms around his waist. Feeling uncomfortable with his arms hanging mid-air, he slowly let them rest around Myungsoo.

They stood like that, speechless until the wind blew again.

“Argh! Do something!” MyungSoo squeezed the other harder and started hopping like a baby in a tantrum, which made Sungyeol laugh sincerely.

“You wimp!” he started tickling Myungsoo on both sides making the other laugh and push him away.

“Who are you calling wimp, you... string bean!”

“Crybaby!”

“Dead meat!” Myungsoo rushed towards the other but Sungyeol’s reaction was quicker, the younger’s hand tightened around the air just inches from the other’s arm.

“Hey!”

“You’re never gonna catch me, crybaby!”

“Just you wait!”

And the chase on the beach started. At least they forgot about the cold wind.

“Are we there yet?”

Sungkyu was carrying two pairs of shoes, two pairs of jeans, two t-shirts and two sweatshirts. He was cursing himself for suggesting the trip and he was also cursing the weather, which was supposed to be so nice today but turned out to be totally opposite.

“Come on grandpa Gyu! It’s not far away! I can already see the car!”

SungKyu was so tired that he didn’t even feel like fighting back because of the nickname Hoya called him. Besides, there was not much he could do about it – he lost the race and was the servant for the rest of the day. Just perfect.

“It’s so much better wearing dry clothes, the weather doesn’t seem that bad at all!” DongWoo slowed the pace in order for Grandpa to catch up with him.

“Can you hear that?” SungJong moved his hand to his ear to hear it better.

“Why are they screaming?”

“They’re screaming for their lives!” Dongwoo laughed when Sungkyu picked up the pace to arrive with the clothes quicker.

When they walked out of the bushy path leading into the beach they saw MyungSoo and Sungyeol running around, throwing sand at each other and screaming like savages.

“What the…?” SungJong couldn’t believe his eyes that people could actually retrogress so badly. The moment Sungyeol threw himself and caught MyungSoo by the leg making the other fall down and kick the sand into his opponent’s face must have been too much of a sight for the boys as they run towards the fighting two, to separate them.

“Guys! What’s wrong with you?”

WooHyun grabbed Sungyeol and Hoya pulled MyungSoo away.

“He started!” They both screamed at the same time and pointed fingers at each other. Sungyeol tried to spat the sand out of his mouth and MyungSoo laughed at the sight. It wasn’t long when the taller paid him back by throwing a handful of sand into the younger’s face.

Sungkyu threw the clothes on the sand between the two opponents. “I brought your clothes all the way down here, but I see that you don’t need them, savages”

“Of course we do!” Sungyeol leaned forward to pick his clothes from the pile, “Thank you” he smiled at Sungkyu.

“We were only chasing each other to keep us warm,” MyungSoo leaned to grab his clothes, too.

“That’s yours,” Sungyeol threw a t-shirt at Myungsoo

“Thanks,” MyungSoo stood up and offered Sungyeol a hand in getting up, which the other accepted eagerly. Then they got dressed just as if nothing happened leaving the rest completely speechless.


	10. a milestone

“Mommy! Sungyeol is teasing me!” little Daeyeol run into the kitchen crying and hugged his mother’s legs as she was doing the washing up.

“What’s the matter this time?” she turned around and kneeled down to look her son in the teary eyes.

“We bet our chocolate bars on who’s going to keep their eyes open longer and I-I-I lost! And he called me a weakling!”

“Why are you always telling mum on me?! Huh? You wanna die?!” A bigger version of Daeyeol appeared in the kitchen a moment later.

“Sungyeol! Behave yourself! Or do you wanna die?” the mother lifted her hand up playfully but with a serious face. Making sure that his mother doesn’t see it, DaeYeol poked his tongue at his older brother.

“That’s rght! You are always taking his side!” the older crossed his arms and tried his pout on her.

“You know that it’s not true, Sungyeol. But you can’t call your brother names! He’s younger and it’s difficult for him to compete with you”

“No, it’s not!” Daeyeol jumped out of his mother’s embrace in an instant, “I can easily win against him!”

“Oh yeah? Wanna see who’s going to jump further off the swing?”

“I am!” Daeyeol points his thumb at himself

“In your dreams!”

“Let’s go and you’ll see for yourself!”

“Great! The last one by the swing makes the other’s bed for a week!”

And they both flied out of the kitchen, elbowing their way through the door. 

***

_Let’s meet tonight, I can’t wait any minute longer_

DaeYeol hoovered his thumb above the keyboard, not sure what he should answer. There was a part of him that was screaming _yes_ , right now but, there were also the thoughts of the bet, and worries about the boys not answering their phones the whole day. Did anything happen? Did they get hurt?

_I can’t_

_You have no idea how much I’d love to, but I can’t_

_I’m sorry_

“Sungkyu, pass me the glass!” Sungjong was pointing at the water on the table when Woohyun scolded him:

“Hey! What about _Sungkyu pass me the glass, please,_ huh?”

“Don’t spoil the thing, will you, Woohyun? Do I have to remind you how Sungkyu ordered me to carry his phone around and made me answer _all_ his calls and reply to _all_ the texts he received for him when I lost the race?”

Dongwoo bursted out laughing as he remembered the situation,  
“Let him be, Woohyun, it’s his time for sweet revenge”.

  
Sungkyu got up from the armchair to pass the glass to the youngest and his butt hardly touched the soft seat again when, this time, Sungyeol started:  
“Sungkyu, come here and scratch my nose.”

“Seriously?” Sungkyu cringed and murmured under his nose, “when will it all finish?”

  
“Faster you slowpoke! It’s itchy”

Everybody laughed at Sungkyu’s sudden trot towards Yeol. A running hamster. Hillarious. Cute, but hillarioius.

  
  
  


“MyungSoo! Why aren’t you ordering the granpa around? Try it, that’s so much fun!” Hoya grinned as if Christmas came early and he got all the presents in the world.

MyungSoo saw the look Sungkyu was already sending him, but he tried to ignore it as he speaks:

“Sungkyu, bring me the blanket, plea-ouch!” he rubbed his arm after Hoya punched him, “…and make me some hot tea, I literally almost froze to death back there at the beach!”

“SungKyu! I want a blanket, too!”

“Make me something warm to drink!”

“Fine! Fine! I’ll do it all, just stop whining like babies!”

“Sungkyu aka the guardian in a crib!”

“Yes, Dongwoo, exactly. Your level and the one of the kids in a crib is literally the same”

“Oh! A blanket! I’m so cold!” Sungyeol, who just came back from the toilet jumped next to Myungsoo and tried to get under the blanket but Hoya, who was sitting on the other side, was quicker and showed Sungyeol his tongue victoriously which made MyungSoo chuckle.

“Fine, I’ll just go to Dongwoo… Honey! Did you miss me?” Sungyeol threw his arm around the rapper’s neck and hugged him close while he sneaked under the blanket, which Dongwoo wasn’t sharing with anyone yet. Only then, did the tallest show Hoya his tongue victoriously.

  
“What’s the big deal?” MyungSoo asked his blanketmate in a low voice making the dancer grin and answer a little too loud, “I don’t know, MyungSoo, I seriously have no idea,” but his eyes were throwing daggers at the tallest.

“Okay, the tea is ready for you, retards,” Sungkyu placed the tray on the table and smiled at everybody with the fakest smile he was able to put on.

“We need to check if it’s not poisoned… Sungjong, drink it first!” Hoya ordered

“Why me? It’s Myungsoo’s idea!”

“Myungsoo is my blanketmate and you are the youngest”

“I don’t care! Make Sungkyu drink it!”

  
Hoya laughed in an evil way and watched SungKyu clenching his teeth. Nobody had to say anything for Sungkyu to follow the order. When his lips were inches from the steaming liquid Woohyun jumped up:

“Hey! Stop! That’s enough!” He took the cup from SungKyu’s hands and passed it to SungJong. Then he distributed the drinks to everyone and announced:

“Drink your tea people, and shut up! I haven’t had a chance to speak up because of you ordering SungKyu around!”

“I’m wondering what your wish is,” SungKyu squinted his eyes at the greasy guy.

“Be quiet! Let me hear it, too!” Dongwoo almost stood up when Woohyun was taking a breath in:

  
“Go on a date with me!”

Everybody groaned. They all had hope for something big and Woohyun disappointed them with his same old song.

  
Woohyun observed SungKyu purse his lips and lift his chin up as he eyes the other confidently:  
“It doesn’t work that way. I will go on a date with you when I feel like it, not when you tell me to”

  
  


“Woohoo!”

  
Somebody clapped.

SungKyu crossed his arms and watched Woohyun’s grin fade. It was the moment when something broke in him – he didn’t want that positive ball of fluff covered in grease to be upset because of him, so he cleared his throat and quickly added, “…the eleventh of November?”

He cringed a little and tried to put on his cutest smile.

“Deal!” WooHyun added faster than the lighting and SungKyu walked back to sit at the armchair while everybody started chanting to WooHyun:

“Booo! You’re so easy!” somebody threw a sock at him.

“You should’ve messed about with him a little, too!”

“Say whatever you want, it’s not gonna spoil the moment!” WooHyun was tapping his cheeks with open palms as he’s just taking the first step towards the cloud nine.

“I say, this requires an Hallelujah!” DongWoo jumped and started freestyling:

We all heard that, we won’t pretend

Does Woohyun even comprehend?

The eleventh of November, Please remember~

The day that’s gonna change your lives!

Let’s give them both round of high fives~~

To show them we support them, Hallelujah~~

Everybody sang along with the hallelujah chorus joyfully while they swing from side to side. Even Myungsoo sang along between the moments he clapped his thighs out of heavy laughter.

Everybody laughed but when the chorus was about to end, Dongwoo went on with another stanza:

The family is growing strong

Today we sealed a brand new bond

Our Myungsoo did it faster than Howonnie~~

Hoya scrunched his face and showed Dongwoo a fist.

But life goes on, that’s how it is

Let’s welcome MyungSoo with a kiss

Let’s drink to our brother, hallelujah!

  
  


As soon as the hallelujah chorus ended they all lifted their cups up and cheered and drank the tea. Hoya and now SungJong, who were sitting on both of MyungSoo’s sides, leaned to kiss their new brother on the cheek. Then DongWoo jumped at them, too, hugging all three and trying to reach MyungSoo’s face with his pursed lips. Sungyeol came from the back and kissed MyungSoo’s hair and WooHyun and SungKyu looked at each other and snorted with sheepish laughter but nodded at each other and walked up from the both sieds towards the tangled mess.

They were screaming and laughing and generally making so much noise that they didn’t hear the door opening, so the sudden voice asking them _what’s going on_ gave everybody a heart attack.

“What are you doing, idiots?”

“Dae?”  
“What are you doing here?”

“Didn’t you say you couldn’t leave your clients?”

  
“I’ve been calling you since the afternoon! I thought somebody got hurt while jumping off the cliff!”

“Oh! That’s right, we left the phones in the car!”

“Even you, MynungSoo?” there was a hint of disappointment in DaeYeol’s voice

“Honey! You’re here!” MyungSoo got up and rushed to hug the latecomer and earned a caress on his cheek from his lover

“How was it?” DaeYeol fixed MyungSoo’s unruly hair while watching him thoroughly.

“Eeew, find yourself a room”

“If Sungkyu and Woohyun are gonna do that too it’s better if the date doesn’t take place at all, yuck”

“Of course I will!” WooHyun exclaimed proudly

“Wait, what are you talking about?” Daeyeol left his lover’s eyes quickly to make sure he heard correctly, “Is it really happening?”

“Yeeeeeessss” DongWoo scramed and started laughing and juming up and down while supporting himself on SungKyu’s arm. 

“Wow! Congratulations! I was losing hopes, really! And I’m happy you guys are safe and sound! You have no idea what kind of scenarios I was going through in my head while driving up here”

SungYeol got up, he wanted to be the first one to tell Deayeol the news, “MyungSoo jumped off faster than Hoya!”

“Really?” Deayeol turned to his lover, “You did?” he laughed, “I’m so proud of you,” he gave his lover a quick peck on the lips.

Sungyeol who was walking past them ruffled MyungSoo’s hair back again. _It’s better that way_ he thought and disappeared in the kitchen.

He poured himself a glass of water and drank it in one go. Something felt off. He doesn’t remember the last time he got anxious before the match. Because the anxiousness, obviously, must result from tomorrow’s match, right?

When he walked back into the room he found boys in the middle of bickering about something.

“Sungyeol! Tell him something! He’s your brother!”

“What’s the problem this time?” the tallest sat on the bed

“I need to go back to Seoul because of the appointment I had to postpone because you refused to pick up your phones”

“So what’s the big deal? You can do whatever you want,” Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders

“I’m taking MyungSoo with me”

“Sungyeol, don’t let him! We’re supposed to watch your tomorrow’s match together!”

“From the vip seats right next to the court!” DongWoo added into Daeyeol’s face but the latter only rolled his eyes

“So what? You always watch it from there! I want to spend some time with my boyfriend, too! You envious beasts!” To be honest, somewhere deep down his heart he was hoping that Myungsoo would stay. There’s still the text message in his mind - _Let’s meet tonight, I can’t wait any minute longer_

His insides tied in knot. Again.

“Guys, guys! MyungSoo is not a puppet! He can do whatever he wants, don’t put him in an awkward position! He’s too polite to say no, and you know it! Don’t try to make it to your advantage,” SungKyu was talking to the rest as if he was a preacher man. SungKyu was the only one who could rule over the group, if it was even possible.

“MyungSoo, are you really going to leave us?” Sungyeol was really disappointed but the others must have read it as him trying to make MyungSoo stay so he earned a hit on the head from SungKyu.

“Everybody, I had a really great time with you today, and I really wanted to see the match…”

Everybody started making strange noises of complaint already knowing what the pretty man is going to say next.

“…I want to spend a little time with my man, too,” Myungsoo giggled and since the complaints were getting stronger, he tried to make an excuse, “… he came all the way here, how can we leave him going back alone”

“Just like that,” Hoya answered but it didn’t help. A moment later the couple said their goodbyes to the rest. Since everybody was a bit sad because of MyungSoo’s unexpected departure – they really liked him by now – only Sungyeol and SungKyu walked the couple to the door. Before the lovers left in the dark night and the door closed, Sungyeol heard MyungSoo’s excited voice, “Will we watch tomorrow’s match on tv together?”

“…but, come one on! Throwing a handful of sand into somebody’s face! Who does that! You wouldn’t, would you? Of course you wouldn’t! That might make somebody’s enamel damage” MyungSoo laughed and watched his boyfriend staying focused on the road as he’s driving. “Dae?”

“MyungSoo… I was just wondering… How much do you like me?”

“Now, what kind of question is _that_?”

“Are you trying to avoid the answer?”

“What? No! It’s just…”

“What? You can’t tell me? Or you don’t know?”

“It’s not that I’m going to confess you god-knows-what after, like, a month of us going out”

“Why?”

“That’s not the right moment to talk about it”

“You know what I think?”

“Of course I don’t, enlighten me”

Daeyeol got reminded about how that other man was always able to read him like an open book - every single time although they hadn’t been in a relationship. They didn’t have time to start one.

“Nothing. It’s nothing” Daeyeol didn’t even bother to fake a smile.

“Ah, you know that you can tell me anything, right?” So there was something that DaeYeol was hiding - Myungsoo thought.

“I know. Sungyeol is so stupid!”

MyungSoo laughed, “You’re referring to the story from the beach? Yeah, he is!”

“What story?”

“The one I was telling you about a few moments earlier?”

“Oh, I’m sorry, I must have found myself lost in thoughts”

“That’s okay. Maybe we should listen to some music?”

“Fine,” DaeYeol turned the music up loud enough to outsound his thoughts or Myungsoo’s talking or maybe his own conscience.

*

Next morning Sungyeol couldn’t open his eyes when his alarm clock woke him up. He felt weak and he had a sore throat. He was sharing his bed with Sungjong and the fact that the other turned around and covered his head with the quilt to sleep some more made getting up even harder for him.

But he had to get ready and leave for the usual practice on a match day.

When he finished showering, SungKyu, Hoya and Woohyun were already in the kitchen, all covered in blankets and sitting at the table with faces of people beaten to a pulp.

“You guys feel like shit today, too?”

They moaned in unison and SungKyu sneezed.

“I feel sorry for you, Sungyeol”

“Well, I’ll have to manage somehow, a sore throat isn’t the worst condition I had to play a match with”

“Hey hello!” DongWoo marched into the kitchen with a big smile on his face but it faded as soon as he noticed the dark circles under the eyes and runny noses and greasy hair of his friends. “What’s wrong with you?” he laughed, “one little jump off the cliff in October and you all get sick?”

“Viruses must spare you since you’re one of them,” Hoya grinned but he was so pale that his fangs made him look like Dracula.

“I have to go now, let’s see one another at the venue, if you guys make it”

“We will”

“You can ..” a cough, “…count on us!”

When Sungyeol left, Dongwoo took his place at the table. “What should we do today, hm?”

The rest of the boys only groaned gloomily, which, surprise surprise, made DongWoo laugh. “I’ll go and buy some ramen and prepare it for you for breakfast! If you eat something spicy you will instantly feel better!”

*

“MyungSoo!” Daeyeol jumped up in his seat at the kitchen table. He threw his phone away as if it was on fire and walked up to the zombie-like version of his boyfriend, “You look so…” he couldn’t find the right words so he didn’t finish.

“I wanna die,” the dying man plopped onto a chair and let his head fall down onto the table.

“You-you should stay in bed.”

“Can you stay with me?”

“I’m sorry, I have work to do, but you can stay here if you don’t want to go home, okay? I will come back later and we can watch the match together okay?”

“Oohkay”

“See you later and sorry, no kisses today!” he smiled apologetically, “Please don’t forget to air the house okay? I hate germs, yuck!”

*

**Kakaotalk group chat**

Kenya: *sends a picture of him looking perfectly fine and the boys with red noses and dark circles under their eyes as they sit at the stand minutes before the match*

Myung: *sends a picture of himself sitting under a blanket looking the same as boys but with his hair ruffled*

SugarDaddy: let’s unite in pain

Namstar: where’s Dae?

Kenya: kkkk since Myung’s in the living-room, Dae’s probably watching the match from the hall lol he can’t stand germs

Myung: He’s not here yet

Myung: I miss you guys

Hojack: it’s starting!

As the camera focused on each player individually before the game starts, MyungSoo noticed that Sungyeol didn’t look well, too. His calm stare, though, made MyungSoo shift uncomfortably under the blanket.

DaeYeol wasn’t there and the game already started. MyungSoo will call him during the first break.

The match was exceptionally fast-paced and aggressive as both teams were fighting to place themselves on the top of scoreboard after the end of the game. Aggressive as it was, it was also as fair as a nerd on a math test.

MyungSoo enjoyed watching Sungyeol’s swift dance with the ball around the court. When the referee had to begin the game from the middle of the court, after the foul, MyungSoo cheered involuntarily at how swiftly Sungyeol intercepted the ball in the air.

Myungsoo has taken Sungyeol’s long limbs for granted and only now did he become a bit fond of them. His long arms definitely worked as an advantage in scoring – when he jumps with his hands high, hardy any player is able to block him. That’s also the reason why he got fouled often. But every foul on him dictated by the referee turned into either a one point or two-point shots.

It was the first match MyungSoo watched in years. After the dark period connected to basketball which he went through he wanted to cut it out of his life completely. He managed to forget how exciting it all is!

  
  


  
**Kakaotalk group chat**

  
Myung: wow sungyeol is amazing

Jjong: what are you talking about they are pushing him and he’s bouncing around like a ball in pinball game!

Hoya: he’s clearly in a worse condition

Myung: really?

  
  
He promised himself to take a good look as the break was already over. It’s impossible that he missed something on the court! But indeed, as many shots as Sungyeol scored, he also lost many one to one situations and got the ball taken from him to his utter dissatisfaction which he presented on the court by kicking air or skipping in one place which made Myungsoo giggle.

  
When the match finished and the teams were thanking each other and players patting one another’s backs and joking or talking while saying their goodbyes, Myungsoo realised how late it was and he forgot to call Daeyeol! Is he really going to work all night?

Myungsoo grabbed the phone and was about to call his boyfriend when the door unlocked and DaeYeol entered the apartment.

“Dae!”  
“Myungsoo,” he sneezed, “I- I think I’m going to-“ he sneezed again, “argh I must’ve caught it from you”

“I’m sorry! But you know what it means,” Myungsoo grinned and showed his dimples to the other who checked his forehead with his open palm, which made Myungsoo’s playful mode turn on, “does thinking about it gives you fever already?”

“No, Myung, I think I really have a fever”

“Oh? Really? Show me,” he touched DaeYeol’s forehead and cheeks with his tongue sticking out, “that’s because you work too much”

“I’ll take a quick shower, I’m sorry”

“Don’t be! Take your time!” He watched the door to the bathroom getting locked and he sighed.  
  


  
The phone in his hand vibrated.

  
**Kakaotalk groupchat**

  
HoJack: Kill me somebody

SugarDaddy: are we this old? Getting ill because of such a thing

Jjong: old? Talk about yourself! :p

Kenya: hey, why are you talking via chat instead of talking in real life? You’re like sitting next to one another!

Namstar: try talking with flames of hell burning in your throat you healthy bastard!  
Myungsoo: I guess I passed it on to Daeyeol

SugarDaddy: oh dear he must be really pissed now?

Myungsoo: I haven’t noticed

Myungsoo: yet

Myungsoo: should I be afraid?

Namstar: depends on where you are right now

Myungsoo: at his place now, but he’s having a shower I can still run away  
DaeBak: i can see what you’re talking behind my back! I’m a member of the group too!

_  
DaeBak was kicked out of the group by HoJack_

_  
  
DaeBak was invited to group by Myungsoo_

  
  
Daebak: You bastards

  
  
_DaeBak was kicked out of the group by Hojack_

_  
  
Daebak was invited to group chat by Kenya_

  
  
“These dorks, really” DaeYeol walked out of the bathroom drying his hair with a towel.

“How do you feel? Want me to make you something to drink?”

“I just wanna go to sleep”

“Tomorrow I have an afternoon shift so we won’t be able to see each other”  
“That’s okay, stay at home and heal”

“I’m already missing you”

“Come on, let’s go to sleep”

  
  
But Myungsoo was strangely hyped and didn’t feel like sleeping.

  
“I’ll stay here for a while, I don’t feel like sleeping”

“Oh, as you wish, I’m hardly keeping an upright position, goodnight”

“Night, Dae…”

  
  
  
Myungsoo stayed on the sofa and was going through some videos on vimeo and didn’t notice when he fell asleep.

  
  


*

  
  
When Sungyeol entered the rented apartment, almost everybody was asleep. Only Sungkyu and Woohyun were sitting in the living room looking half-dead.

  
“Go to sleep, you punks!”

“You know that Sungkyu can’t sleep when he’s ill”

“Ah that’s right! When was the last time you had a cold, huh? I even forgot that you can’t sleep. I’ll just stay with you guys”

  
He cleaned his nose loudly and wanted to grab a duvet but got reminded that he shared the bed with Sungjong and couldn’t do that for the younger. He just grabbed the first blanket he found at hand and cuddled closer to the boys on the sofa.  
  
“You are the man, Yeol. Managed to score in such a state”

“Your voice sounds funny” Sungyeol pulled the blanket and nestled himself by turning to his side. He could swear the blanket smelled like Myungsoo. With heavy eyelids he scrolled the group conversation and smiled at Myungsoo’s message about missing them.

  
“This Myungsoo, he’s a good guy”

“Of course,” Woohyun agreed

“It looks that Daeyeol finally found somebody that you approve of, hm?”

  
“Yeah” Sungyeol answered. Long while later he fell asleep with a heavy chest.  
  



	11. meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * a side note to those of you who haven’t been to N seoul tower yet : when you take that lift up, the lift attendant asks everybody to look at the ceiling where a video is projected. The video is hilarious and it helped me so much to go through the ride (I’m afraid of taking lifts ^^) in my story there’s no video projected in the lift. It’s for the fic purposes kkkkk ~~

Come out, I’m in front of your house

I’m in bed already, you can just call me

Come out! Listen to me well if you feel like living! Or should I start singing right under your window? :D

Come out, I’ll be waiting for you… but only until the sun goes up

Daeyeol grinned at the phone and pressed it to his lips while trying to calm down his racing heart. He got up and looked out of the window to check if the person whom he was talking to really was waiting down there.

He couldn’t notice anything but decided to come downstairs and out anyway.

The chilly wind hugged his body so he wrapped himself in a jacket tighter. He looked around but there was nobody there so he dialled the number back, only to hear the ringtone from around the corner.

He smiled and walked towards the source of the sound until he saw a tall man leaned against the brick wall. The man noticed DaeYeol and smiled, “You came. Good. I missed you.”

“Well, that’s not funny, you know!”

“Look, I’m sorry that I left you hanging in the dark for such a long time, okay? Not that I intentionally prolonged this cliffhanger-“ he saw the other man eyebrow rising and so he overcame the grin that was forming on his face due to his lame joke and continued with a more serious face: “I mean… I made up my mind and wanted to tell you first…”

DaeYeol had no idea what answer to expect from the other as he knew one thing, namely, that no one could take JangJun seriously.

He himself knew more than well that he began his game of playing with fire the very moment he allowed the affection to the other grow on him. But this guy had a certain magnetism in him, something DaeYeol couldn’t resist since the moment they met, on a rainy day, in front of one of the night clubs where JangJun was working as a door staff. Or rather a party wrecker as nobody wanted to get inside as they’d rather stay with the door staff instead. Daeyeol snorted at the very thought.

Then, he let out a quick energetic sigh:

“Just please, don’t try to pull my leg or I might kill you,” DaeYeol grinned and watch the reason he was outside in the chilly weather _grinning back_ at him.

“Don’t worry! As I told you, I have everything set up here,” he pointed his index at his temple, “and here,” he rested his open palm on his heart, an exaggerated expression on his face as he’s imagining himself playing a main role in a drama, “I needed the time to learn that without you I’m like a meal without rice or like… like I’m on a swimming pool without my swimming trunks! My life sucks but I’m not going to play macho right now, despite the circumstances, and telling you something I don’t actually feel towards you just to protect you…” he cleared his throat, before he spoke up calmly, “I want you DY”

Daeyeol smiled but felt no relief after haring such an original confession. “Why does it feel that there is some _but_ in this story?”

The other sighed.

  
“I want you, but… we can’t be together…” seeing Daeyeol’s face, JangJun started waving his hands in all directions, “..but not like forever! Only…until… I receive treatment, of course!”

“Treatment? Oh my god, did you get the results?” Daeyeol moved closer and grabbed the other man’s jacket, “What chances have you got?”

“Good enough” Jangjun made a face of a tough guy but Daeyeol knew him better, he read through the flop-brave smile.

DaeYeol pulled and pushed the other by the jacket constantly, “Come on! I deserve to know”

“Around 70%…” Jangjun avoided Daeyeol’s gaze.

“That’s good! We will make it! I’ll be there for you!”

“No”

Daeyeol’s smile faded in an instant. “Why not? Didn’t you just say that you want me!?”

“I do. But you have your own dream, DY. You’ve worked for it too hard to quit now when you’re almost there. I’m sorry. Besides, I’ll undergo the surgery in Japan”

“That’s not fair!”

“I think that life is not fair in general. We could have met earlier… or you could’ve confessed earlier” he send DaeYeol a cheeky smile, “but I promise I will get through it and contact you as soon as I’m healed!” the handsome man caressed DaeYeol on the cheek, “I didn’t tell you that before but I am a superman and in reality I need to go and save some peoples’ lives out there,” he smiled, “You can think of me doing that, okay? Instead of me looking like a zombie with my brain out”

“This is not fair! I want to be right next to you!”

“Do you want to be my Jane?” Jangjun ignored the other and tried to make a cute face but failed miserably.

“You’re never good at making cute expressions, please, don’t embarrass yourself” Daeyeol grinned because the fact that he was trying so hard and fail was kind of cute.

“DY, come on, it’s going to be all right”

“When are you leaving?”

“I told, you. When the sun goes up”

“That’s too early! Hey! What am I supposed to do? Look, if you think that I’m going to wait here for you you are wrong! If you want to do it away and you want to push me away from you then don’t expect me to wait for you! We’re not together, do you understand? If you want me, you better go through the surgery and find me living my life without regrets….! Waiting for you” he murmured under his nose making Jangjun laugh.

“I know, it’s okay. I will come back to you, I swear! Even if I had to come back from the dead..” their eyes got teary at the very thought of everything that they could have together but the only thing they’ve got left for the future is hope. “…even if I had to break down every wall to get back to you, I know what I want from now until the end”

He moved closer to close the gap between them for the first time in their lives both of them hoping it’s not the last one at the same time.

DaeYeol breathed out slowly a few times with his eyes closed. There was his mobile on the table in front of him. While fighting a battle against his thoughts in his head, he was performing strange hand gestures above the phone. He looked like a sapper casting a spell over a bomb before he tries to disarm it.

Daeyeol’s slender fingers’re dancing in the air as he bit his lower lip before he breathed out quickly and grabed the phone.

He dials his brother’s number and almost hears how his high heart rate pumps blood through his veins.

“Y-yeah?”

“Oh my god, Sungyeol what’s wrong with your voice?”

He hears his brother clears his throat

“Nothing. You woke me up. What’s so urgent that it can’t wait until I get up?”

“How do I know that you’re still sleeping? It’s almost eight o’clock. Shouldn’t you be like coming back from the running session?”

“Nah, I’ll go right after we finish talking, I felt awful yesterday and I guess I just had to sleep it over”

“Brother, I’ve got a problem,” he shut his eyes tightly and crossed the fingers of his free hand. “What is it?”

“I was invited for the conference in Busan and it starts early in the morning tomorrow, so I have to go there today”

“I don’t see a problem”

“…but Myungsoo bought the tickets to Namsan Tower for today’s evening and I won’t be able to go… You know that standing him out is out is a no-no as it will break his heart, which could lead him to even break up with me and I don’t want that”

“Well, yeah, you’ve got a problem but you know, it’s not my problem, so bye-“

“Wait! Wait!Wait!” Daeyeol got up from the seat in panic

“What is it?”

“I was wondering that maybe you… you could go with him”

“What?!”

Sungyeol covered his mouth after looking around and noticing that Woohyun and Sungkyu were still sleeping. And so he whispered again, “What?!”

“Look, I can’t ask Sungryu or Woohyun, okay? Sungjong won’t let me live later if I ask him for a favour! Dongwoo could spill the beans about the bet and you know that Hoya ‘s going to say no just because”

“Tell MyungSoo to go with his friends”

“Oh great! And how would that sound like? Hi MyungSoo, yeah you’re my boyfriend and I can’t go with you, you know just go with somebody else. Please”

“No way, man. Over my dead body”

“Sungyeol!”

“A no is a no, why do you refuse to accept it? You are out of your mind and I’m hanging up””

“Don’t forget I still have your after shower dance walkout from the bathroom safely hidden in my files, I could show it to boys by chance~”

“Ugh”

“And I think that a good half a year of mocking is guaranteed”

“Okay! Fine! Damn you!”

Daeyeol pumped the air victoriously

“Thanks brother!”

“Don’t call me brother, you sly-“

“A! A! A~~”

“…you beautiful creature! What time do I have to be there and where?”

“I’ll send you the details later”

As soon as he hung up, DaeYeol called MyungSoo.

“Dae? Hi~”

“Hi, MyungSoo!”

“What’s the special occasion? You hardly call me from work”

“I’ve got two pieces of news for you! One is good and the other is…well… so-so,”

“Oh? Okay, every so-so is better than bad, right?”

“Yeah! So listen, I’ve been invited for a very important dentistry conference!”

“Wow! Congratulations! I knew my Daeyeollie’s a smartass!”

“Thanks! It’s in Busan and it is connected to the so-so piece of news”

“Hit me”

“Uhm… The conference is held tomorrow from very early hours which means that I kind of need to go there today and so… So I won’t be able to spend the evening with you, I’m… sorry”

“Oh…Well… I guess we can go there some other time…”

“But you already bought the tickets and it would really be such a waste”

“Ah, what are you talking about! You have to go to the conference, don’t worry about the tickets, that’s… fine”

“Actually-“

“Yes?”

“I told Sungyeol about the conference and I mentioned that I couldn’t go with you and he asked me if he could go instead because he’s never been there in the evening and… he had asked somebody earlier to go there with him but nobody wanted to. And so he asked me to ask you to let him go with you”

MyungSoo cracked up, “Oh, really?”

“Oh~ Seriousy, he almost begged me”

“Well… if he really wants to go there and since I’ve already bought the tickets…”

“Thanks, MyungSoo!”

“No problem, and have fun at the conference!”  
“I… I will, thanks, later”

“Bye~~”

Daeyeol threw the phone on the table and started dancing a crazy dance consisting of booty shaking and throwing arms in every direction. He then shook his head and regained his composure. He danced his way to his bedroom to pack his stuff.

***

Myungsoo noticed Sungyeol from afar because of many reasons. The outstanding height was surely one of them. Among men wearing coats Sungyeol was the only one in a bomber jacket and with a basketball under his arm.  
  
“Hi” Sungyeol smiled involuntarily at the sight of Myungsoo who was still cutely waving at him with a shy smile on his face. Sometimes, and Sungyeol would rarely admit it, some things that Myungsoo does seem so cute and this time, Sungyeol found Myungsoo’s behaviour cute, too.  
“Why did you bring the ball with you?”  
“Ah you know...” Sungyeol bounced the ball efortlessly a few times, “...we’re at Namsan”  
“Well, thanks Sherlock! But I still have no clue about the ball”  
“Isn’t it a dating place? I don’t want anyone to take us as lovers by mistake” he looked around suspiciously.  
Myungsoo laughed, “Seriously? Ah, so that also explains the outfit? Pfff, geez… Hey! Deayeol told me that you begged him to ask me if you could go with me” he punched SUngyeol in the arm playfully.  
“What?! Nonsense! He asked me to come because he didn’t want to leave you alone!”  
They looked at each other surprised for a moment bedore they started giggling.  
“He’s so sweet”  
“He’s sly”  
“Why?”  
“Nothing! Nothing!” Sungyeol threw the ball at Myungsoo to distract his attention from explaining why his brother is slyer than a fox  
“But what’s with the ball?”  
“Under no circumstances did we plan going up together, understood? We just met here by chance and hang out okay?”

Myungsoo laughed:  
“Today is the night of meteor shower!”  
“Oh good! So we met by chance and decided that watching the shooting stars together would be a nice idea”  
Sungyeol made a face as if he was standing in front of the gate of hell which made Myungsoo laugh and threw the ball at him to intuitively grab his camera a moment later to take a photo of the moment.  
“Hey hey hey! Are you going to take a picture of me?” the taller pointed a finger at himself  
“Why not?”  
“No, it’s okay, but if you want to use this image you have to pay the copywrite fee,” he extended his open palm waiting for Myungsoo to pay him  
“Copyrights? Shouldn’t that be paid to your parents tho?”  
“Smartass, aren’t you?”  
Myungsoo poked his tongue out, “let’s go up! Should we take the cable car?”  
“Let’s walk, it will keep us warm”  
“But...”  
“Ah, your knee, I totally forgot about it! Let’s take the cable car” Sungyeol walked towards the line to the cable car and dribbled the ball between his legs as we walked.  
Myungsoo walked up to him and surprised the other by intercepting the ball and performing a crossover dribble when Sungyeol wanted to get the ball back  
“Ha! I got you!” Myungsoo laughed triumphantly while allowing the ball to spin on his index finger  
“Did not! I let you!”  
“Oh please just be a man and accept it”  
“Look, it’s our turn to get the tickets!” Sungyeol pointed at the cash counter to the cable car tickets  
“You’re not gonna deceive me into this, I’m not that stupid!”  
“As you wish” Sungyeol grinned and walked to the cashier to buy two tickets leaving Myungsoo red in the face because of his false accusation of SUngyeol trying to pull his leg.  
“Wait for me!”  
When they reached the top they looked for the entrance to the tower and took a lift up to the observatory.   
  
“Whoa! The view!” Sungyeol ran towards one of the observatory windows leaving Myungsoo behind. After the first curiosity was satisfied and Sungyeol reminded himself about the world around him, he turned around in search for his friend and saw him a few steps away smiling at the camera screen while he’s assesing the takes.  
“Nice?” hearing the unexpected, Myungsoo almost dropped the camera off his hands. It was still secured by the strap, though.

“Don’t do that!”

“I’m sorry. And don’t be such a scaredy cat”

“Stop saying that I’m a coward or something, will you?”

“I would really like to, MyungSoo, but it can’t be helped,” Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders and made an innocent face, “You thought I didn’t know why you clinged onto my arm while we were going up in the lift?”

“It was too crowded in there and I didn’t want to touch anybody’s lower parts by chance. That’d be awkward”

Sungyeol laughed “Yeah, right! What a nice story to cover up the fact that you were scared of taking the ride up”*

  
“Whatever, Sungyeol. I already understand that whenever you decide to believe in something nobody is able to convince you otherwise”

“And that’s why you’re a scaredy cat”

Myungsoo ruffled his hair in despair and seeing that, Sungyeol jumped at him to prevent the other from doing so. He grabbed MyungSoo by the wrists and let them go only when the other calmed himself down.

“What is it?”

Sungyeol didn’t answer until he fixed the raven hair, “If your hair is all ruffled, people might think that… I did it when… ah, you know… kissing” he mumbled that in a small voice, hardly inaudible, “I don’t want anyone to think that we’re together or something” were the tips of his ears getting red?

“I seriously start to doubt whether you’re mentally stable”

“Come on! I’m as healthy as a horse” Sungyeol started laughing and MyungSoo was looking at him as if the other really lost his mind.

“You don’t get it?” Sungyeol couldn’t stop laughing, “Stable? Horse?”

MyungSoo looked at the other sympathetically, “Call me when Sungyeol comes back” he walked towards the window to look at the view.

*

“MyungSoo when is this meteor shower going to start? I’m bored”

MyungSoo looked away from the view in front of him and rested his eyes on Sungyeol for a moment before he cracked up: “Oh my god! Stable! Horse!” he lost it and didn’t know if it was because of Sungyeol’s lame joke or the fact that he only got it now.

“Ayy, so slow… Oh! Mungsoo! MyungSoo! Look! It’s a shooting star!” like a baby, he almost glued his face to the glass as if it would help him see things better.

“And there, too!” MyungSoo pointed at one spot in the sky

“Where?”

“Ah, it disappeared so fast!”

“There’s another one!”  
“Should we make a wish?”

“Okay! I wish Daeyeol has enough patience to bear with you. Ouch!” Sungyeol rubbed his arm in a place where Myungsoo had punched him.

“I wish Daeyeol had more time off work”

“I wish I made a backboard-breaking dunk this season”

MyungSoo chuckled with laughter and looked at Sungyeol who was gazing in the sky dreamily. Sometimes, you can feel that somebody’s watching you and you know exactly which direction to look at to meet their eyes. And this time, it was the same with Sungyeol. He turned his head to look MyungSoo straight in the eyes. The proximity didn’t shock him because the only thing that passed by his mind at that moment was that he couldn’t look away. There was something in his eyes and he couldn’t really tell what it was but since that moment on, it bugged him. For a moment they could swear the time stopped if it wasn’t for the shooting stars. 

Sungyeol only came back to reality when somebody poked him on the back.

“Excuse me, mister, but is this your ball, perhaps?”

Sungyeol turned around to see a young boy whose eyes slowly grow bigger as he realised who he’d just met.

“Oh? Lee Sungyeol? From Seoul Thunders?!”  
  


Seeing the excitement growing on the boy’s face, Sungyeol was trying to calm the atmosphere with the gestures of hands and face.

“Oh my god I have to tell my friends like right now!!’

“Wait, please, what friends?”  
“My classmates!” the kid turned around and started calling his friends which made some people interested in the commotion.

The attendant of the group walked up to the screaming boy to calm him down.

“Moon TaeJin! What’s this behaviour! Be quiet, it’s rude to scream and interrupt other people!”

“But Miss Go! It’s Lee Sungyeol! Can I take a picture with him?”

The lady seized Sungyeol and MyungSoo who bowed politely and her stare melted a little.

Her stare melted but her heart set itself on fire because of the two handsome men!

At that very moment the rest of the school trip was there too already making noise around them.

The children were outscreaming one another with their telephones up in the air and MyungSoo noticed Sungyeol getting pale as he tries to keep his composure while being photographed. He didn’t mind when people take pictures of him but since the beginning of the meeting he was worried sick that someone might mistake them as a couple.

“I wonder how many likes will I get!”

“They’re going to be so jealous!”

“Hashtag prestige! Hashtag highlife!”

At that moment Myungsoo got reminded how badly Sungyeol wanted people not to think that he’s on a date with somebody or something like that and without thinking much he stepped forward and introduced himself:

“Hello! I’m Kim Myungsoo! Today we have a very important shooting! He lifted his camera up and the children went “oooohhh” ending in high-pitch. “Thank you for finding the missing ball – we wouldn’t be able to finish the session today without it! It’s a secret shooting so please do not upload the pictures anywhere, okay? It would be best if you delete them-”

The class went “ooooohhh” but this time ending in a low pitch.

“-now” Myungsoo ended politely.

“You heard the photographer! Delete the pictures! Come on!” the attendant rushed the children

“I will now take one picture of you with Sungyeol-ssi and send it to your teacher’s email address, okay?”

The children cheered loudly and fought their way forward as everybody wanted to stand next to Sungyeol.

“When I grow up I’m going to be a Thunder’s player, too!”

“No, I will be!”

“I want to be like Sungyeol hyung, too!”

“You have to practice a lot, okay?” Sungyeol smiled at the kids who were literally hanging on his arms.

“And my dad will buy the club for me and Thunder’s players will work for me!”

“Can we make our parents vote for Sungyeol for the president?”

“Okay everybody, say kimchi in 3..2..1!”

“KIMCHI~”

“And now, go and watch the shooting stars before the show ends!” with a gesture of hands Myungsoo pointed at the windows

While Sungyeol’s giving high-fives to every child because they made him do it MyungSoo took the teacher’s email address.

“Is it possible to order a photo session at your studio?” the lady asked and although internally, MyungSoo was already rolling on the floor laughing, he kept a poker face and answered with significant difficulties, “I’m afraid it’s not. I flew from America especially for this photoshoot. Can you please tell the children to step away now?”

The teacher nodded her head and brought the order back before she walked away with a line of children behind her.

“What kind of a school trip takes place this late at night?”

“The teacher told me that they came here for a three-day trip from Suwon”

“Suwon? That’s where Seoul Thunders originated”

“Ah, really? I didn’t know that”

“And I didn’t know that you have so good improvisation skills! Thanks!”

“Everything for a basketball star,” MyungSoo giggled, “wow, you are a role model for future generations”

“Leave me alone”

“Come on, tell me, how does that feel like?”

“It’s… hashtag prestige” Sungyeol mocked one of his teenage fans and they both laughed.

“I think the meteorite show has ended” MyungSoo sighed

“Let’s go back down to the city”

“Uhm…Can we take the stairs? I want to stop by to take some pictures”

“Will you make it?”

“Well, if we walk down _really_ slowly and I use the railing to support myself… ugh I sound like a cripple”

“Stop freaking out, you’re not a cripple… a coward, yes, but nobody calls you cripple. Come on, let’s go” he took Myungsoo’s hand and pulled him behind.

When they took the elevator down and walked up to the stairs leading down Sungyeol started, “wow, that’s hashtag hell a lot of way down”

“So, hashtag fighting!”

“Hashtag _adventure_!”

“Let’s walk down until our feet fall off! Hashtag… Er, what hashtag would be good?”

“The journey of my life”

“The journey of our lives!”

“Okay! Myungsoo, let’s quickly come down so that I can say hashtag we’re there”

“Hashtag we came”

Sungyeol cracked up, “Daeyeol’s not gonna be happy about it”

***

“WHOAA! HEY! I MISSED YOU!”

Daeyeol was one hundred percent sure it was directed at him. Before he managed to notice a jumping man on the other side of the street he smiled at the confession being expressed _that_ openly.

When the red light turned to green the man on the other side run through the zebra crossing and hugged the living daylights out of DaeYeol before lifting him up and spinning around.

“Put me down you crazy!”  
“Can’t do! I’ve been living for this moment since the day I opened my eyes after the surgery! Woohoo!” the man spinned around still holding the other

“JangJun!”

The man stopped and looked the other in the eye, “I’ll put you down for a kiss”

DaeYeol snorted but gave the other a quick peck on the forehead and the next moment his feet touched the ground.

“Hey!”

“What? You told me to put you down, not to let you go,” Jangjun laughed, “come on, tell me that you missed me too, hm?” he squeezed the other tighter and was trying to make a cute face.

“I did,” DaeYeol didn’t know what was happening with him when he started crying and hugged the other closer.

“Come on, Dae! I’m here now! What’re you doing you silly! Hey! You wanna see me with shaved hair? I looked like an alien,” he giggled and felt Daeyeol’s hand caressing the hair in the back of his head. “DY! Come on!! This is supposed to be a happy moment!”

“And it is! I’m crying out of joy, okay?”

“Excuse me, did something happen?” A lady stopped by seeing two men, one crying and the other fighting his tears back.

DaeYeol moved away and rubbed his eyes and JangJun bowed slightly, “It’s fine! We just haven’t seen each other after a very long while and this man here is definitely crying out of joy!” he awkwardly pointed his stretched arms at Daeyeol.

Daeyeol giggled at the explanation.

“Go and have a drink to celebrate your reunion! I run a restaurant over the corner and will give you some discount for that occasion” she smiled

“Of course! What does your restaurant specialise in?”

“Meat of course!”

“Great! Hey DY! Isn’t it great, hm?” he grinned and Daeyeol nodded as the smile appeared on his face again.

“Please show us the way!”

  
The lady walked forward and Jangjun turned around to grab Daeyeol’s wrists for a short while and shaking them up in the air as if it was time for samba he cheered with a big smile on his face “We’rrrrrre gonna eat togetherrrrrrrrrrr!”

“I missed everything about you!” Daeyeol laughed and it was the best feeling over the past two years.

“I wonderrrrrr what otherrrrrr things we arrrrre going to do togetherrrrr” Jangjun beamed, “Rrrr” he wriggled his eyebrows and bursted out laughing.


	12. secret admirer flop

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the song lyrics are from BLOO's "I'm the one" and instead of people, there's originally men

Again, he was thinking over all the possible outcomes of their coming together. After so many years of friendship and a few years of joking about going on a date with him, Woohyun may have simply got lost in his feelings. After all, how could he know that what he feels for Sungkyu is… _love_ or something, if he doesn’t go on dates and hardly spends any time with other people? What if he only chases Sungkyu for the sake of chasing? What if he gets bored or founds a feeling of accomplishment after Sungkyu finally agrees? Could they live on as if nothing happened? Wouldn’t that be weird? But people sometimes just don’t fit with each other right? Except for the fact that Sungkyu kind of wants them to fit. If it turns out that they don’t, and Woohyun changes his mind, then what?

Sungkyu rolls to the side and closes his eyes tighter as if that would help him fall asleep faster. But the vision of Woohyun filling his cheeks up with dumplings as he prattles about Dongwoo’s new video on youtube lingers in his mind.

Does he want to live like this forever?

Well, probably not. Maybe definitely not.

So he has to finally agree. He’s going to do it as soon as the opportunity appears.

Oh, he’s so embarrassed.

He covers his head with the comforter.

Little did he know that the opportunity’s going to appear during their tomorrow’s trip to Busan.

*******

Without turning around, Hoya knew exactly when DongWoo entered the café. Whenever DongWoo comes into a place it gets brighter and warmer. And somehow, the same applies to Hoya’s heart.

He turns around to face the tables trying to put on his manliest poise and face. In his head, he’s chanting his sexiest way of saying >hello< which he had practiced so many times in front of the mirror. He walks towards the table next to which DongWoo’s waiting; the other apparently looks for something in his phone.

Hoya’s running his fingers through his perfectly styled hair for the last time and hopes his walking looks like the baddest badass when his confidence is ruined in one second as, suddenly, Dongwoo turns around and, surprised as he is, starts laughing wholeheartedly.

“Hoya!? What a coincidence! What are you doing here?”

The rapper jumped at the paralysed one to hug him dearly. Although it was his usual way to greet his friends, and everyone got used to it, today it took Howon aback. He wanted to say something but the usual wit of his disappeared in the emptiness of his mind.

“I’m going to meet with the secret admirer! Didn’t I tell you?”  
“Ahm.. apart from you talking exclusively about it for the past two days, nope, I don’t.” he showed his fangs in a grin. 

„I have to tell you that I’m sort of excited for the meeting-” DongWoo sat down at the table and looked around the café, „it seems that we really are on the same wavelength, you know?” he laughed some more and Hoya managed to faint a smile which looked rather sour.

“Ah, r-really? So… what are you two up to when you meet?”

Dongwoo lowered his voice, “To be honest I have no idea!” he giggled, “I’m sure things are going to flow naturally”

“I see,” Hoya made himself to smile, “either way, you look nice, I’m sure the admirer, whoever they are, will be impressed”

Dongwoo looked down eyeing himself, “I haven’t put any effort, to be honest” he lauged “It’s not that we’re having a date here!”

“Ha …ha”

“But, tell me, Hoya, because you look kind of all dressed up – are you, maybe, going to meet with anyone?”

“Me? I… hahaa I was just… uhm… coming back from a meeting! With sponsors!” Hoya internally breathed a sigh of relief, “…and I felt like grabbing some coffee...”

“I see! Look, Hoya, don’t feel bad but… I’m waiting for the admirer and I’m afraid that if they see you, they won’t walk up here…”

“Ah…You’re right! I’ll just…. Drink some coffee at the table over there and then leave without interrupting you two,” Hoya pointed a table in the corner with his two indexes and Dongwoo showed him a thumb up. “See you!”

“Good luck!” Hoya mouthed

Hoya walked away and thought it was probably the most awkward situation he has ever said “bye” to anyone. It didn’t even feel that awkward when, back then, he had accidentally sat on something and had a stain over his trousers and therefore had to sit throughout the whole meeting at the restaurant; when the moment of goodbye finally came he said goodbye but refused to leave the table and had to insist that the other person go first and leave him behind. 

Dongwoo, on the other hand, couldn’t take his eyes off the other, who was walking away. He felt so bad and was worrying whether he made Hoya feel less important than the admirer. He sighed and looked at the watch. The admirer was late. But it was only like a few minutes or so.

DongWoo rubbed his hands nervously and looked around the café. As far as he noticed, for the last three minutes nobody has entered the café nor walked past it (the outside could be easily seen because of the enormous windows on every wall).

He noticed Hoya confirming his order by nodding his head and smiling at the waitress at his table. He felt a strong urge to write something down so he quickly picked his phone and started typing something quickly.

_Hey baby, can you hold my hand?_

_Can you meet me up every night?_

_Can you go with me, wherever you want?_

_I’ll buy it for you._

_People* around you, I don’t mind_

_Come out quickly we ain’t got no time_

_You know I’m the one_

Dongwoo thought about the lyrics for a moment and somehow his eyes followed the path to the table where Hoya was sitting at. Accidentally, he caught Hoya’s eye and the other lifted a hand in a greeting manner and with a shy expression of being caught watching the rapper.

“Ah, whatever”

DongWoo stood up and walked to his friend, who, with every Dongwoo’s step, was becoming more and more surprised until he lifted his hands up when Dongwoo stopped right next to him

“Sorry. I was watching you…b-because-“

“Did you pay for the coffee?”

“I? N-not yet”

“Come on, I need your help,” DongWoo grabbed Hoya’s wrst, Hoya grabbed the coffee and on their way out, Dongwoo put some money on the counter, “For the coffee!”

“What’s going on? Is it because your…secret admirer? Did you find out who they are?”

“He didn’t show up”

“How do you know it’s he?”

“It’’s just a feeling. Look, I wanted to talk it over with the secret admirer, since he helped me a lot with many things, but he’s not here and he lost his chance… but by some reasons you are here, so maybe it’s fate and I need your help with something”

“Well, sure! I’m more than happy to help you…always”

“We need to get to my place first,” Dongwoo looked around the street, it was windy and cloudy and it probably was going to rain.

“I came here by car”

“So did I”

“Maybe we should just walk to Sungyeol’s place, it’s not far away”

“No! I don’t want my balls to freeze off man,” DongWoo fixed his jacket around his neck “I’ll drive first and you follow me”

Hoya has never been at Dongwoo’s place and any means of getting there would make him more than delighted. “What if I’ll have to stop by at the red light?”

“Let’s stay on the phone throughout the drive”

“Okay!”

Hoya got in his car and dialled Dongwoo’s number.

“Oy”

“Did you fasten your seatbelt?” Dongwoo laughed.

“Yeah”  
“Okay! Let’s go! We’d have to make a u-turn over there”

“Roger” Hoya grinned

“What a coincidence, really, that we met here today!” Dongwoo laughed, “…maybe it is a sign…”

“A…sign? L-like what?”

“I don’t know. But since I haven’t told anyone where the meeting is…that’s strange…”

Hoya gulped.

“Y-you see? What if that admirer was a psycho or something?”  
„We’ll turn left at the next juncture… Oh guys, you really should stop with your overprotectiveness, Sungyeol’s going to kill DaeYeol one day because of it, too”

“Wait-“

And Hoya panicked seeing that Dongwoo is literally halting his car making Hoya’s car behind almost hit Dongwoo’s, “Not literally! Man! Wait as in hold onor I don’t know but most definitely not your car jesus!”

“Ah, sorry hahahha”

“What kind of help do you need that you have to take my to your place? Would you ask the admirer to go there with you, too?”

“Of course not, who do you think I am? A kiddo?”

Yes. Hoya answered internally and listened to Dongwoo continue:

“…I’ve been working on something, something special… and … I wanted to ask him for some advice but he didn’t come. So, the fate guided you to the café, so I decieded to ask you“

Hoya drove faster and lined up with Dongwoo’s car and showed him a thumb up “Okay!”

“Get back there, we need to take the right lane…”

There was a silence for a moment until Hoya started singing some of Dongwoo’s rap. He found it hard to continue while DongWoo was laughing – his laugh was so contagious. A moment later DongWoo rapped along too, and it didn’t take long until they parked their cars and went upstairs.

* * *

“What?” the man with a perfect smile snorted with laughter, “is there something on my face? Something like… an irresistible smile?” he placed his thumb and index finger over his chin and posed alluringly.

“I think the surgery caused damage to your head,” Daeyeol poked the other’s head with his finger

“You did it! You!” the man paid back with the same but then he pulled the other closer “You” he looked down on Daeyeol’s lips but the latter quickly covered Jangjun’s mouth with his palm. His heart was racing and while desperately trying to calm it down he let his guard down which ended in him being bitten in the hand by the other. He punched the other in the arm playfully. “Be a good boy!” he laughed, “I need to tell you something”

“Oh? Okay, I’m listening!” Jangjun hopped on the nearest bench and invited the other closer. DaeYeol sat on top of his lap and smiled back at the most beautiful smile in the world that Jangjun was the lucky owner of.

“I told you that I’ve got somebody”

“nah-a”

“I did”

“Nope”

“Look, it’s complicated”

“DY, I am here, right?”

“Well…yeah?”

“And you are here with me, right”

“So? What do you want to say? Because I’m not sure I’m following”

“It’s simple, DY. If you wanted to be with that someone, you wouldn’t be here with me. It’s simple when it comes to feelings. You have to follow your heart. Following your brain makes it all difficult. So tell me, that other person - it’s either you’ve got some business with them or you owe them something. Which one is it?”

“Oh…”

“You look so cute right now, you know”

“No! Wait! Really!!” Daeyeol got up and giggled, “Listen to me, you idiot!” he grinned at the other who politely stuck his legs together and put his hands together and started nodding as if he was a polite kiddo.

“I am with Myungsoo, partly because of you and partly because of a bet I got myself involved into”

“HA! I knew it!” JangJun got up too and pointed a finger at the other, “You see? Feelings are easy. Okay so what kind of a bet is it?”

“Look, I know that you’ve got attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, that hasn’t changed,” he grinned ,“so I’ll make it real quick. I was meeting up with different people looking for somebody who would help me go through the time waiting for… for you and when I met Myungsoo it just turned this way that Sungyeol came up with an idea of the bet and since he was furious with me meeting up with everyone as it was, the rule of the bet is that I should stay with Myungsoo until the end of the basketball season so, it’s still half a year to go, and if I make it, he’ll never ever butt in my life again”

“But since I’m here now, and you won’t be with anyone else until the rest of your life…” he wriggled his eyebrows “…then Sungyeol will never butt in your life anyways since you’ll be only with me” he watched Daeyeol slouch down on the bench next to him and laughed at the man’s miserable face, “What? So sad that you’ll spend the rest of your life with me? Well, I would be happy if I were you”

“I’m not so sure about it,” Daeyeol poked his tongue out, “and the reason why I can’t lose the bet is that... I just have to win it okay!!!!” his eyes shot flames at the very thought

“Okay I get it, calm down”

“And if I have to be with him, and it’s crazy because it already makes me feel so bad, almost like a tritor or something, but at the same time I want to be with you, I missed you enough and don’t feel like waiting any more. It just makes me wonder if, by being with him, I will cheat on you in some way…”

“I guess you will”

“I don’t want us to get mad at each other over that in the future…” DaeYeol felt Jangjun’s arm round him and rested his head against the other.

“Phew, and to think that I thought the chemo was hell”

“Well, things here suck, too…”

“So, what options do we have? Hm? You could stop the bet, but you don’t want to… maybe you should tell that Myungsoo the truth?”

“That would hurt him… If I wait until the end of the season and just break up with him, I think it’ll be easier to bear..”

JangJun sighed, “What did I do to deserve this? I swore to spend the rest of my life with a psychopath”

“That’s not funny”

“Okay, I’ll try to play by your rules then, if there’s nothing else I can do about it. Finish this stupid bet… but…” he cupped Daeyeol’s face and turned on the drama mode, “…promise that we’ll keep in touch because, oh!” he covered his forehead with the front of his hand pretending that he’s about to faint, “…every minute without you is killing me!”

“I’ll do my best!” Daeyeol giggled

“And seriously, coming back to the part when you said you’d feel like cheating on me – for now, I’ll refrain myself from jumping over you but, honestly, I don’t know how long I’ll make it”

“I know, right?” Daeyeol looked the other in the eyes and tried to smile

“Oops! I guess the time of me enduring has just run out!”

And with that, Jangjun leaned over to close the gap between them.

* * *

“It’s a studio!” Hoya looked around after he took his shoes off.

“What? You thought that youtubers earn that much?”

“Don’t they?”

“Well, they do, but I’m still far behind, it’s good I was able to rent this up”

“it’s cool”

“Thanks! Oh, byt the way, if you need something just make yourself at home”

Hoya had a lot of things in store for today, but he would never imagine that they’d end up at Dongwoo’s place. He sat at the revolving chair at the desk and grinned, “so, what do you need me for?”

Dongwoo cracked up at the question and walked up to the desk to turn on the computer. The fact that Hoya didn’t move an inch when Dongwoo rested his body a little over him, and the smell of Hoya’s perfume made his heart beat faster and wonder why he didn’t feel a tiny bit uncomfortable around him.

“Listen” he orders and Hoya tries hard to focus on the sounds coming from the speakers and when Dongwoo starts rapping the lyrics, which are so mind-blowing, and when he sings that he’s the one so passionately and finishes the chorus with, “Tell me that you love me” Hoya’s so mesmerised that he already opens his mouth to answer that he does love him to the moon and back but then the rapping stops and Hoya’s brought back to reality when Dongwoo asks him for an opinion.

“Well.. “ he breathes out quickly and shifts his position in the chair, “it’s…”

“Yeah?” Dongwoo feels that he’s getting red in the face with anticipation. _The song is about you._

“It’s really good!” Hoya nodded his head, “is it going to be your next song?”

“I don’t know,” Dongwoo laughed “I stil need to finish the lines, somehow it’s hard, I don’t know, I want this one to be special, you know?”

“I see” Hoya bit his lips not really knowing what to say. Milions of different ideas were rushing through his head now and all of them were possible answers to why the song is special to Dongwoo. “So… what is it exactly that you needed from me? You know, the help you were talking about?”

“I wanted you to help mi with the rest of the lyrics”

“Me? Seriously?” Hoya laughed nervously, “Why me?”

“Tod you I was going to ask the secret admirer, it feels that he knows me so well, you know. But I guess you should know me a little, too!” he laughed

“Well… I can try!”

Dongwoo moved closer and squatted down next to Hoya’s chair. He opened the file with the lyrics.

“…this is more or less where I got stuck…”

“But, I thought you sang more than it’s written here?”

“Ah yesh! I wrote the _I’m the one_ part in a resto, and _tell me that you love_ _me_ was freestyle”

Hoya felt that the room become way too stuffy. He laughed nervously and took his jacket off. “Wow, really”

In the meantime Dongwoo quickly typed the missing lyrics and they were ready to work together.

“Maybe you should tell me, what your original idea was? What are you referring to, in this song?”

Dongwoo looked at Hoya for a while. He couldn’t tell him just like that that the song is about him. He was trying to come up with something that actually would make sense and was starting to curse himself for inviting Hoya and asking him for help so mindlessly. “Well… it’s about a… a situation, where, uhm… let’s say when you – not like you as in you, but in… general okay? Like… when you meet somebody like everyday and you should be happy about it, because you meet and talk and laugh and stuff… but even though you meet the person on a daily basis you feel that there’s something missing, it’s like missing somebody who’s usually right next to you… does it make sense?”

Hoya gulped, “Yeah…like… like it’s… like there’s something you need to say to this person but you’re too intimidated to do it out loud and…”

“Exactly!” Dongwoo beamed “Wow! You understand me so well!” he patted Hoya on the back, “And now, you know I’m the one, blah blah and tell me that you love me – that’s something I’d like to hear… I mean, the person from the song right” Dongwoo laughed, “But I still need... it still feels that there’s a line necessary here...” he plays the music and they both bounce their heads to the rhythm

“I was thinking that... I don’t know, maybe, being afraid that because of the fact that the person is somewhat afraid to express their feelings, he somehow begs the other not to look at other people but he does it kind of indirectly, right? Like… Please don’t forget that you’re mine”

“Oh? Plese don’t forget that you’re mine? Ah, it’s like hoping that the other person will understand the feeling somehow, or maybe even feels the same! .. and won’t look at any other people with the plead not being voiced, well… Wow”

“So the first stanza says how the person feels when they are together”

“Definitely” Dongwoo types the lyrics, “So maybe the second one should show how the person feels when their significant one is not around?”

“How do you…I mean, the person, how would they feel?”

“Well… missing yo- the other! Of course! Like… mad.”

“Of course!” Hoya grinned „They worry about the other, right? If they eat well, if they rest well or if they are happy today”

“Yeah! And if they aren’t hurt or... or injured…”

“The only thing that roams in their minds…”

“Is the question: Baby, what [are] you doing?”

“Exactly”

Dongwoo stood up and typed it down, “And if they are hurt? Or didn’t eat well or are sad?”

“Of course you want to be their shoulder to cry on, you want to support them by any means”

“You could come right to me”

“You can… “

“Oh, right, righ! You can come right to me…we’ve got to try it out like, right now”

“From the very beginning” Hoya grinned and nestled himself comfortably in the chair, waiting for the show with a racing heart.


	13. 11.11 it’s a date! vs Is it a…date?

The three friends were slouching in front of the tv watching “My lovely lover” as the weather outside was nothing but awful. Sungyeol was lying on the floor and casually throwing the ball up pretending that he couldn’t be less interested but the drama was a hot issue at that time and there was hardly anyone who wasn’t watching it.

“Oh come on! She’s never going to fall for that!”

“Shut up Woohyun, we can’t hear it!”

“What did she say?”

“Be quiet!”

It was the moment the episode finished which caught everyone by surprise and the boys lost it:

“Woohyun! What did she say? What did she say? Huh?”

“Why can’t you keep your mouth shut for once!” Sungyeol threw the ball at the drama interrupter

“Stop fretting over, they’re going to repeat it next time! Besides, you don’t even watch it”

Sungkyu shifted on the bed and fixed his eyes at the ceiling.”Is love life really that complicated?”

“Sungkyu! See it for yourself! Go on a date with me!” Woohyun threw the ball at the object of his feelings.

“Sure! As soon as you invite me to an expensive restaurant like ChinGu from My lovely lover”

“Aish, but you know I don’t have enough money! What should I do? Shoud I start saving up? For my dream date with Kim Sungkyu? Awwie, if I start saving from tomorrow, maybe I’ll be able to ask you out, like… in a few years” Woohyun’s simle faded quickly as opposed to Sungkyu’s smile which widened at the sight.

“I’m going to invite my date to an expensive restaurant, too!” Sungyeol jumped on the bed and lied down next to Sungkyu, “the first date with a very special person in a super expensive restaurant to show the other how much they mean to me!” Sungyeol took the ball from SungKyu and hugged it as if it was a teddy bear.

“What are you talking about, Yeol? Aren’t you married to basketball?”

“One day, I’ll start going out for sure. It’s just that nobody special has appeared yet”

“Plus, you don’t have enough money yet” Woohyun giggled

“Yet. Good that you said it.” Sungyeol sighed, “But at least I bought a nice place to live!”

“… to live, as soon as it’s finished”

“It’s only half a year more of waiting! I can’t wait to see you begging me to invite you to the housewarming party!” Sungyeol tried to tickle Woohyun with his toes but the other dodged.

“Try it and I’m telling your mom on you!”

And the three of them burst out laughing. 

*******

**Kakaotalk SungFu MyungSoo chatroom**

  
SungFu: are you there, myungsoo?  
  
  
Sungyeol read what he had written again and started hitting his head with both hands. _Are you there, Myungsoo?_ Why does it sound so perverted? No, Myungsoo would never interpret it that way. No, of course he would! With his dirty mind he’s going to play along for sure! That idiot! Sungyeol was about to think why he thought about such meaning in the first place but decided it’d be the best to leave it be.

He rolled on the bed and grabbed a remote control to the stereo to play some music. It was his day off and everybody was busy doing something: SungKyu and WooHyun are having their date today, DongWoo’s recording a video, Hoya’s presenting the new choreo for this year’s contest; SungJong’s tutoring from the very morning… Daeyeol answered the phone only after SungYeol had called him four times and said that he’s at work and if SungYeol called him again, he’d sedate him and pull out his front tooth.

  
After years of spending his days with his friends, SungYeol had no idea what to do with himself. What kind of music was he even listening to now? Oh, Dongwoo’s songs downloaded from youtube to mp3 format.

  
  
“Somebody save me!!!”

  
_  
Kkatalk!_

  
  
Sungyeol’s heart skipped a beat. He strucked at the phone and almost bounced off the bed.

  
  
**Kakaotalk SungFu MyungSoo chatroom**

  
Myungsoo: I’m here  
SungFu: You came?  
MyungSoo: Sungyeol, what kind of questions are these ㅋㅋㅋ  
SungFu: I guess I’m losing my mind  
MyungSoo: I know that I’m hot but to hit on your brother’s boyfriend like that tsk tsk tsk  
MyungSoo: Udjaoidhsbdb I’m kidding ok?  
MyungSoo: What did you want?  
  
SungFu: I was wondering what you’re doing  
SungFu: What are you doing?  
  
MyungSoo: My coworker begged me to take my shift today so I guess I’m staying in  
MyungSoo: It’s somehow lucky since it’s so cold outside :))))  
MyungSoo: You?  
  
SungFu: I’m losing my mind, told you already :p  
  
MyungSoo: How can you lose something that doesn’t exist ㅋㅋㅋ  
MyungSoo: Do you want me to help you find it?ㅌㅋㅋㅋ  
  
SungFu: Would you be so nice to do so? Really?  
SungFu: What am I even saying, of course you would!  
  
MyungSoo: I would, I would! Where can we start searching for it?  
  
SungFu: I think I saw you smuggling it with you when you were leaving last time, so maybe somewhere at your place?  
  
MyungSoo: I’ve never heard anyone gatecrashing so sneakily hhaha  
MyungSoo: Buy some chicken and radish kimchi on your way  
  
  


***

After a while of bickering, it was agreed that Woohyun picks Sungkyu up. He insisted that if he asks the other out he should also pick him up and drive him back. Well, the driving back part may not be WooHyun’s favourite part, though. That’s why, just in case, he already had dozens of different scenarios prepared in his head to prevent this from happening. Sungkyu is going to spend the night at his place, period. If all the possible scenarios don’t work, he’s going to fall down on the floor and use a baby tantrum to make the other stay.

  
He checked the time on his watch to learn that he still has three minutes before he should witness Kim-hot-gyu walking through the gate in front of the house.  
  
He made use of the remaining time to check on his looks in the car’s mirror.  
“That’s it, Woohyun, time to win over Gyugyu’s heart. Fighting!” he cheered on himself with a clenched fist which he kissed for luck before taking a peek through the passenger’s window to see the gate opening and Sungkyu walking through.

  
  
He was wearing a dark turtleneck and a coat. What shocked Woohyun was the fact that Sungkyu styled his hair up, which, it goes without saying, of course made him look like million dollars, but, did he, perhaps, put a little more effort today to look nice for the date? And as a consequence… for Woohyun?

  
  
The man waiting in a car couldn’t believe his eyes!

  
  
Sungkyu got into the car with a shy smile glued to his face and fastened the seat belt.  
  
“Hi!” He lifted his hand in a cute manner, “where are you taking me today?”

“Here and there, why? Don’t tell me you are expecting something big?”

“Well, you’ve asked me out so many times now, you had a lot of time to think, didn’t you?”

  
“I didn’t want to make myself any false hopes you know”

  
“Ah... I’m sorry”

  
“What?” Woohyun snorted

  
“That it took so long”

  
“Ah stop it, really, it’s getting too cheesy already”

  
“Ah cheese, by the way, are you going to treat me to something today? I’m so hungry, I think I’ve been too nervous to eat”

  
“You are so cute, seriously! Fine! I’ll buy you whatever you want! But not too much, okay?” He grinned.

  
“Why? You haven’t been complaining about money lately, have you?”

  
“First, we need to be on time somewhere… and later, I’ve prepared some food surprise for you”

  
Sungkyu laughed, “wow, it’s such a nice feeling to know that somebody prepares something especially for you! You could’ve told me that you’re going to make me some food, I’d have agreed earlier” he laughed 

  
“I’m too old to fall for that, Kyu… Okay, let’s stop to eat something here and move on okay?”

  
  
While they were walking and eating Korean hot dogs (Sungkyu had one in each of his hands and was taking turns eating either with every bite) they were joking and just being their usual selves.

  
  
When Sungkyu finished eating and got rid of the sticks, Woohyun grabbed his hand and pulled him along, “Let’s go!”

  
  
A moment later they stopped in front of Woohyun’s parents’ restaurant. Sungkyu got out of the car and looked at Woohyun with his eyes wide open. Then he cracked up so his little eyes turned into tiny crescents again.

“So the food is on the house today? Clever!” he waved his finger at the other with reproach.

“What? No!” Woohyun grinned, “We’re not here to eat!”

Sungkyu realized something and started panicking, “You’re not going to officially introduce me to your parents or something, are you?” he took a cautious step back to be ready to run away as soon as Woohyun walks up to him. But seeing the other holding his stomach due to excessive laughter, Sungkyu felt relieved.

“They both know you after so many years, why would I introduce you?”

“That’s why I said _officially introduce_. _Officially_. We’re on a date, remember?”

Woohyun waved his hand, “Whenever my mom wants to ask about you, she always refers to you as my boyfriend. I guess everybody knows we’re made for each other”

Sungkyu rolled his eyes but then he smiled. It actually felt kind of nice to know that everybody’s cheering for them. He allows the other to pull him by the hand inside, through the restaurant and onto the rooftop.  
  
When they reached the top, the skyline far away was a mashup of colours from yellow through red up to dark blue. Sungkyu already forgot how nice the view from up here was.   
  
“We are a bit too late,” Woohyun smiled apologetically, “if only you hadn’t talked so much and could run faster- ouch!!!” A moment later he was massaging his arm, giggling.  
  
He watched Sungkyu zip his coat and put his hands into the pockets. At this time of the year, the evenings were getting colder but also the view was nicer than in the summer. Sungkyu walked up to the edge and admired the view in silence. Woohyun lined up with him a moment later.  
  
“We haven’t done that in a while... spending time here…” Sungkyu smiled at the memories, “…do you remember the first beer we drank here together after stealing it from the fridge from the restaurant downstairs?”

  
“There’s still the lock on the fridge! Mom hasn’t taken it off, after so many years!” they both got the giggles.

  
“Think about all the clients your parents lost because they must have felt offended by such a thing – a lock on the fridge - as if your parents considered the clients thieves; it’s amazing that the restaurant sitll operates”

  
“Ah, whatever! Haha yeah, and… all the Nell’s songs we listened to!”

  
“We could spend all days lying here doing nothing but admiring the songs“

  
“Yeah”

  
“Woohyun! You didn’t want to get me all sentimental first and then try to kiss me, did you?”

  
“What!?” Woohyun laughed nervously, “No!” Seeing Sungkyu’s all knowing stare he added, “Oh, come on! That would be so cheap! You deserve much, much more”

  
“Fine, fine. I was just teasing you”

  
“Please, don’t give me a heart attack”

  
“I hope to give you one,” Sungkyu smile shyly, “a positive one,” he sniffled and started stepping from leg to leg, “it’s getting cold”

  
“Good”

  
“Wha-aat?” Sungkyu laughed wholeheartedly

  
“That’s the part of the plan”

  
“I thought you said you had no plan”

  
“Jeez, pay attention! I told you there was a surprise”

  
“Ah right!”

  
“Come on, let’s go, back to the car!”

  
“But we left it so far away!!!”

  
“Stop whining you grandpa!!”

  
“Who are you calling grandpa, you wanna die?”

  
Woohyun laughed “not yet! I’m on a date with Kim Sungkyu! Let me enjoy the moment first!” he watched the other man snort and added, “strange, isn’t it?”

  
“What’s strange?”

  
“That it’s a date and yet, it feels so... natural?”

  
“I know you and you know me, it’s not that we didn’t know what to expect of each other...”

  
“Well, it does feel the same except for...”

  
“Except for what?” Sungkyu opened his eyes wide - it was a sight everybody always laughed at - his eyes were so tiny even when he opens them wide in shock or something.

  
“Except for the strange feeling here…” Woohyun rubbed his stomach, “butterfl-“

  
Sungkyu placed a hand over Woohyun’s mouth and tried to outscream him:  
“It’s the hot dog sauce! You shouldn’t have taken the extra spicy one! I’m going first, it’s really cold”

  
“W-wait for me! Hey! Hey! Watch me being carried by the butterflies wooo~”

  
“Ah! Shut up!!!”

  
They chased each other during the first part of the distance and, since it got crowded later while they found themselves in a busy street, SungKyu reached his hand and grabbed Woohyun’s coat sleeve, right at the bottom of it, and pulled it slightly.   
  
“Let’s not get lost” he smiled.

WooHyun nodded and smiled too as he grabbed Sungkyu’s wrist and made him let go off the sleeve to allow their fingers intertwine a moment later as they continued walking with awkward faces gradually turning into grins accompanied by shy giggles. 

When they reached the car they stopped and stared at it.

“We’re here” WooHyun broke the silence

“Yeah”

And they stood there like that, neither of them wanted to let the other’s hand go.

“Oh that’s right!” Woohyun his his forehead with a free hand, “I forgot!”

  
“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve got something for you, wait, it’s here…” Woohyun rummaged in his pocket for a moment to retrieve a finger heart, which he showed to Sungkyu, cringing. He couldn’t help but laugh out loud when Sungkyu started to hit him with open palms everywhere until WooHyun ran around the car and got inside.

He turned on the engine and rolled the passenger’s window down “Aren’t you getting in?”

“I am! Wait!”

When SungKyu grabbed the door handle, Woohyun drove off a little leaving the other surprised at first, but then SungKyu only shook his head and grinned at himself and walked a little to try to open the door but the situation repeated.

“Hey! You wanna die?” Sungkyu chuckled

“What? I want to know how it feels when it’s you chase after me a little, too”

“Woohyun,” Sungkyu made a serious face as he suddenly realised how Woohyun’s been feeling throughout all the time

“What, what?”

“Thank you for enduring for so long…” a faint smile appeared on SungKyu’s face

“That’s why I’m here, to be there for you. And now, get on, it’s really cold!”

SungKyu observed the other suspiciously, “Are you going to let me in this time?”

“Check for yourself”

When SungKyu touched the handle WooHyun made a sound of an an engine roaring with his mouth and was still laughing at Sungkyu’s expression when the other was getting in;

“You are not even going to try to pretend that you’re... normal, are you?”

“I’m just being myself, you knew what you were getting into”

*

Sungyeol knocked at the door to MyungSoo’s flat and breathed out slowly. He assumed that he doesn’t take the changes well. He’s got his day off today and he feels strangely uneasy. His heart was pounding – could it be that his body is so used to physical exercise that when he takes a break for one day everything starts to get crazy?

He almost jump when Myungsoo appeared in the door, suddenly.

“Radish kimchi! Woohoo~~ let’s pig out!” he took the bags from Sungyeol and disappeared in the kitchen leaving the other at the threshold.

“Maybe a hi Sungyeol, huh?” he walked in and closed the door behind.

“What?” Myungsoo spoke with difficulty as his mouth was already full of kimchi. Sungyeol cracked a smile and shook his head.

“You behave as if you haven’t been eating for ages. Hey! Leave something for me, too!” he snatched the box from the other and hugged it as if it was a baby.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Myungsoo’s eyes were focused on the chicken and he’d say or do anything for Sungyeol right now to get a bite.

***

Sungyeol opened his eyes to found himself lying on his side with his hand serving as a pillow for MyungSoo, who was sleeping soundly with his face snuggled into Sungyeol’s chest.

He blamed it on the drowsiness that was still lingering around, when he wrapped his other arm around the sleeping one and closed his eyes.

Next moment both of them shrugged at the painful meowing sound over their heads.

The sound echoed again making Myungsoo jump on his all four.

“Star? What’s wrong?” He examined the cat’s face when it meowed in pain again.

“What’s wrong?” even Sungyeol, who didn’t know the cat’s usual behaviour felt that something wasn’t right.

“I don’t know,” MyungSoo took the cat into his embrace, “I wish she could tell us…” he kissed the grey head and the cat meowed faintly, “Can you see my phone anywhere?” he turned to the taller who was already looking around the room.

“I can’t see it anywhere, but wait, you could use mine,” he patted his back pockets and checked in the sack of his hoodie and scrunched thinking where his phone might be

“It’s not here?” MyungSoo looked around, “Maybe it’s in the kitchen”

“Ah! That’s right! I left it on the counter!” Sungyeol hit his forehead with an open palm and smiled apologetically, “hold on, I’ll bring it in no time!”. He walked to the kitchen and found his own phone as well as MyungSoo’s one right next to the messy chicken leftovers. He watches the food closely and tries to remember if they really left the leftovers in such a mess. But then he notices the cat’s footprints all over the place and he gulps. 

“MyungSoo! I think I know what happened to Star!”

A moment later Myungsoo appeared in the kitchen with the cat in his arms; he saw the pieces of chicken everywhere; there’re the smears of spicy sauce on the counter and on the floor, too.

“She must have licked it off her feet,” he checked the cat’s foot, “Why did you do it? Are you crazy?!” he shook the cat lightly, “animals can’t eat spicy things!!”

Sungyeol noticed tears in MyungSoo’s eyes and he suddenly remembered what caused the death of his one and only hamster. “Oh god! She’s…She’s not going to… die? B-because the hamster… back then…” he gulped.  
  


“She’s never eaten food from the counter! But how would I know she’d do it today, all of a sudden? I don’t think that it can kill her, but look, she’s suffering!”

“Okay, calm down,” Sungyeol ordered but it was him who was waving his hands like crazy, “let’s take her to the vet!”

The cat started coughing as if it was about to vomit. The men looked at each other in fear and MyungSoo placed the cat on the floor.

“Is the vet far from here?” Sungyeol asked

“It’s two blocks away but it’s already past six o’clock, I think they close at six”

“Let’s get to the car and you can look for a place which is still open in the meantime”

“What if she throws up inside your car?” Myungsoo scrunches and he squats down to watch the cat closely as if by doing that he could asses if the cat’s going to throw up later or not.

“We’ll pull over if something starts happening” SungYeol rubbed Myungsoo’s shoulder and smiled,“Don’t worry”

MyungSoo nodded “I’ll just grab the leash”

*

  
  
“How did you like my cooking?” Woohyun was watching Sungkyu finish the last spoon of galbitang.

“Whoa, that’s what I needed! It’s really good! Maybe I should tell the others so you could cook for us something instead of us eating takeaway food”

“Maybe we should keep it a secret”

“Why? Ah, it’s not you who cooked it, right?”

“I did! But it’s really troublesome to buy all the ingredients and then prepare them and watch them being cooked and make sure the whole thing doesn’t burn…But don’t get me wrong! It was all pleasure to cook for you! All the time I was thinking about you and about the dessert”

“You did the dessert, too?”

  
“Hahaha I can see that sparkle in your eyes!”

“It feels like my birthday” SungKyu laughed

“And there’s even the surprise I was talking about”

“Oh? I thought your cooking was the surprise?”

“The dessert is. The dessert” WooHyun collected the plates from the table and came back quickly. He was holding a blindfold “…but before you eat it, you have to cover your eyes” he grinned

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat well with my eyes closed, no, thanks I don’t need this”

“I will feed you”

SungKyu felt that his face is getting red “H-how on Earth did you think I would let you?”

“Oh… wouldn’t you?”

“Of course not!”

“Great!” WooHyun continued as if he received a yes, “let me put this over your eyes first…” he took the advantage that SungKyu was dumbfounded by his guts, “…here” he finished tying.

Sungkyu sighed.

Woohyun gulped.

“…So… Wait a second!! I will bring the deserts in here and feed you a little of all of them and if you guess what it is, you can eat it till your heart’s content, deal?”

Sungkyu grinned, “I swear Woohyun if you are trying something fishy I’m going to kill you! Do you understand?”

“Yes!” WooHyun shouted as if he was in the military and just received an order.

A moment later he was back with all types of desserts on the tray.

“Okay, so I’m gonna feed you the first one now. Say ah~”

SungKyu obediently opened his mouth and munched over the food, smiling.

“What’s this, do you know?” WooHyun grinned watching how SungKyu chews in a cute way, almost like a little hamster

“I’m not sure, I want some more, ah~”

“SungKyu!” WooHyun laughed, “you’ll eat it later, I promise! Just tell me what it is!” he laughed

“Chocolate pudding”

“Ding! Correct! So, let’s try the next one, open your mouth~~”

SungkYu chuckled at the taste first and then grinned, “jelly strawberry!”

“Ding!”

“I hope you won’t treat me with something I don’t like though. After all these years you should know what I like, shouldn’t you?”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, of course I know! Today, I’m treating you to nice things only! Open it up!”

“Carp bread!”

“Ding!”

“Pancakes!”

“Yeah, but what else is there?”

“Maple syrup!”

“Wow! You are really good!”

“I can’t wait to dig into the chocolate pudding, again, though and strawberry jelly”

“Okay! Here comes the last one! Get ready for this one, I bet you won’t get it right!”

  
Encouraged by the fact that he has guessed all of them correctly, Sungkyu grinned: “Hit me!”

  
Woohyun took a deep breath and leaned closer. With his eyes half-closed and a thumping heart he closed the gap between them by placing a gentle kiss on Sungkyu’s lips.  
  
He was ready to accept a hail of fists all over him for what he’s done but when he moved away SungKyu tilted his head and played with his lower lip while thinking about the answer.

“What is this taste?” he tilted his head and played dummy, “I really don’t know. I think I’ll need to try it again, but… oh, what a pity, you told me I can’t do it twice” he grinned.

“Tsk” Woohyun grined, “but is it better than strawberry jelly?” he watched the older pull the blindfold off his eyes and gulped. Mustering up courage to kiss him was one thing and looking him in the eye afterwards was a totally different situation. A sour smile creeps on his face as, running on fumes of his courage, he’s trying to withstand the look the other’s giving him. He feels his legs turning into cotton wool and so he has to support himself on the table still smiling as if his life depended on it.

Sungkyu snorted at the sight which made Woohyun tremble.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a soft voice, “are you proud of yourself now?” his eyes disappear in a smile after he sees the other trying to shake and nod his head at the same time. It’s way too cute to bear.

“You’re being cute now, you know? Not the usual greasy-annoying-cute but just cute and…” he squeezed Woohyun’s arm encouragingly, “thank you. I had fun today”

Woohyun swallowed with his open mouth, “Why? Are you leaving already?”

“And is there anything else that you prepared for today?”

Woohyun started giggling and wasn’t able to control himself.

“I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. I can see that you are uneasy”

“I-I’m not!” Woohyun puffed up his chest and his cheeks too while trying to contain the nervous giggling. The sight made Sunngkyu fall about laughing, too. He turned his head and covered his mouth while trying to hold his tears and then Woohyun dissolved into laughter and squatted before he ended up on the floor.

“S-stop it” Sungkyu begged sitting on the floor, too

“Okay” Woohyun took a deep breath and when he was sure the seizure is over he caught Sungkyu’s eye and burst out laughing again.

Holding his stomach, Sungkyu lied down in an attempt to calm himself down and succeed.

Woohyun moved closer and wiped his tears off still grinning.

“Are you better now?”

“Yeah, I guess”

“Then come here, kiss me”

And without waiting for Woohyun’s reaction, he sat up, cupped the other’s face and pulled him in for a kiss.

At some moment, when Woohyun was sitting astride the other shirtless and kissing the life out of him, he broke the kiss and furrowed his eyebrows before he spoke his mind:

“Would you like to stay overnight?”

  
“And sleep with you? In one bed?”

  
Woohyun shrugged his shoulders, “It’s not like we haven’t slept next to each other”

  
“But you’d like to hug me this time”

  
“I always feel like hugging you” he sighed, “but I understand, you don’t have to stay. I don’t want to impose anything on you - spending the afternoon and this… it’s enough, really”

“I’ll stay”

“I understand, just… give me a moment to get used to the thought before we say goodbye… wait, what did you say?”

Sungkyu smiled “I’m staying” and he watched Woohyun pumping the air in joy and making a face of a rockstar.  
  


***

  
  


When Sungkyu slid under the duvet he turned to Wohyun and smiled. The dim light of a night lamp, the blowing wind outside and Woohyun lying next to him as stiff as a log twiddling his thumbs with his jaw clenched – although kind of funny, it still felt strangely cosy and domestic and Sungkyu felt his cheeks hurt from smiling.

Woohyun turned to the other, “Shall I turn the night lamp off?”

Sungkyu only smiled and shrugged his shoulders, “Are you going to sleep?” he asked innocently and grinned.

“You’re right” Woohyun smiled, “I’m freaking out too much” he turned to switch the lamp off and stretched his limbs accidentally brushng his foot against Sungkyu’s calf. “I’m sorry!”

He felt the other giggle

“It’s fine”

“I don’t know why I am like this” he sighed, “I know I am supposed to be myself, it’s not the first time we hang out by ourselves… I think… I don’t know, I guess I want everything to be perfect”

“Woohyun, it already is perfect. You planned everything well and I couldn’t have spent the evening better”

“For reals?”

“Mhm! The strawberry jelly!” he giggled

“Only the strawberry jelly?”

“I didn’t expect the kiss, really!”

“You see? After all these years there are still things I can surprise you with”

“Yeah” Sungkyu nestled his head in the pillow, “you know, our date… it was something I was really afraid of”

“Why?”

“I don’t know, just like that… Weren’t you?”

“Of course I was! Like hell! I thought you’d hit me or something”

“I was afraid it would feel off”

“But it didn’t!”

“I know, right?”

“It was so nice”

“Yeah”

Their eyes already got used to the darkness some time ago, and they were able to look each other in the eye. Woohyun had to take a really deep breath to overcome the tightness in his chest but he couldn’t be more contend. Of course, holding the other in his arms, feeling his touch on his skin, sharing slow kisses and whispering sweet words to each other’s ears would make his day but there’s still time for it, isn’t there? He knows that things are going to work out for them. At one point in his life, there’s a moment when he actually started doubting and wondered if wouldn’t be better off if he got it over with but he scolds himself now for being so stupid to even let such a thought come to the surface back then. He’s been pulled back from his pondering by Sungkyu’s quiet voice:

“Are you going to sleep?”

“No, I want to enjoy the moment of having you so close, finally”

“I wanted to give us a chance long time ago”

“Yeah, right!”

“Seriously! But I learned that you mean too much for me to lose you… If it turned out we don’t click, we might end up being aawkward with each other and maybe even part ways…”

“Really?That’s so cute!”

“Didn’t you have such worries?”

“Nope, I knew we were a match made in heaven” he giggled

Sungkyu giggled, too. He reached his hand to pat the other on the arm. It felt a little strange for a moment but then his hand naturally found the rhythm to caress the other.

“What are you thinking about?” Woohyun put his hand over the other’s hand on his arm.

“Woohyun… Don’t be afraid to take over the control” 

“I won’t” he moved closer and with his cautious kiss he let them step onto the new road.

A road both of them were more than eager to walk together until the end.


	14. understanding each other without words: 90% complete

Woohyun’s friend who knew somebody, who knew somebody who apparently had a crush on Sungyeol, asked him to talk to Sungyeol about it. Sungyeol didn’t have time for dating nor he wanted to date anyone so he kindly refused. Unfortunately, one day, he got himself into a fight after lessons which somehow resulted in breaking one of the benches in front of the school. The principal was furious and, since nobody wanted to say who started and who broke the bench, he suspended both of the boys for a week. For Sungyeol, it was a disaster because it meant he wouldn’t be able to take part in an upcoming championships where all the sports head hunters were present. Luckily, it turned out that the boy he was fighting against was a relative of the person whom he had refused to date with. As soon as the other boy admitted that he had started the fight, the principal cancelled the suspension and everything ended up well, maybe apart from the fact that in the end Sungyeol had to go on a date with the person.

And so he’s here, feeling as awkward as a cow on ice.

“Hi” his date was smiling at him and flipping his hair to the side.

“Hey. And thanks”

It would never have popped into his mind that the fight had been set from the beginning. And the only person who could do such a thing in order to achieve his own goal was….

“No problem. I’m Sungjong, I’m so happy to finally meet you”

“Look, I don’t want to sound impolite but I want to be straight with you about one thing - I’m already taken”

“What? How? When?”

“It’s a long story”

“Well, I’m not a person who ruins others’ relationships, nah-a”

“I’m sorry, I had to tell you this”

“Don’t worry, but, since we’re already here, grabbing something to drink won’t be a sin, right?”

“I guess not, but you’re paying”

“What?” Sungjong laughed not being able to believe what he just heard and watched the tall guy in front of him shrugging shoulders with an innocent face:

“You asked me out”

“Wait a minute! You just gave me a supermassive turn down and are now ordering me to pay for you?! Whoa, you’re not that successful yet to let it go to your head like this…”

“Jeez, why so serious? I’m just kidding”

They started walking towards the café to grab their drinks.

“Well, I’m glad it turns out quickly that we wouldn’t be a good match after all. But I like being surrounded by beautiful faces so I’m not going to give up on you quickly”

“Huh? Haven’t I just told you I’m taken and didn’t you admit we wouldn’t be a good match? Do you suffer from Alzheimer already or what?”

Sungjong laughed “Oh my god, did I say that out loud? What I was thinking, what I meant is that I wouldn’t give up on you as a friend, a friend. You need to know that I believe that if there isn’t a spark from the beginning then there’re no chances for the romantic relationship in the future.”

“Yeah, you’re just saying that now because you feel embarrassed because I just gave you the mitten”

“Why do you insist on it so much when you know it’s not true”

“In some way, it is”

“Ugh, give me a break”

“With pleasure” Sungyeol was about to walk away but had to scrunch at the voice calling him.

“Hey!”

“Okay, okay, but you have to know that I’m staying only because I feel like drinking this amazing and the-one-and-only grapefruit lemonade”

“No coffee?”

“Yuck, no thanxxxx”

Sungjong shrugged his shoulders “So what is the person like? The one whom you date?”

“Ah,” Sungyeol took a sip through the straw and half-closed his eyes, “She’s… round”

“Huh?” Sungjong scrunched as if he just noticed something disgusting, “Like… chubby? I didn’t know you’d like such girls. Her personality must be nice then”

“It is. She’s so quiet too,” Sungyeol watched through the space with dreamy eyes

“Well, who would’ve guessed that a guy like you would fall for your complete opposite”

“…and she fits my hand perfectly”

Sungjong spat the coffee onto the ground, “You already touched her?! Was it here…” Sungjong touched his chest gently in a place where the girl’s right boob would be “…or there?” he pointed his thumb behnd his back watching Sungyeol shrug his shoulders

“I don’t know, I touch here everywhere”

“What are you guys? Like, Fifteen or sixteen? Are you crazy?”

“No, she’s four. The oldest one is around six, I guess, but she’s no good anymore”

“Okay, look, I’m sorry I took your precious time, okay? I know that you can become a great player in the future but I just have to report it to the police”

“What?”  
“Do her parents even know about it? Do your parents even know?”

“What parents? What are you talking about?”

“The parents of the poor babygirls you call your girlfriends you freak!”

“I was talking about basketballs, what were you thinking about?”

“You are an idiot, a complete idiot. “

Sungyeol laughed at the other's look on the face.

***

“Come here,” Sungyeol stretched his arms offering Myungsoo support which the other gladly accepted.

“I’m not going to eat any spicy chicken again, ever!”

“So I don’t have to buy you anymore?”

“I’m going to eat it for the last time when you buy it for me and then I’m never eating it again!”

“Ah, I shouldn’t have asked” Sungyeol’s smile turned into a grimace after Myungsoo’s knee met his thigh. “Hey! Isn’t it enough to have your cat ill? Don’t make me end up in the hospital, too”

He felt Myungsoo trembling in his arms and, at first he thought the other was giggling, but then he heard a sniffle and he understood that his comment wasn’t the most appropriate one. He patted the other on the head and found himself not able to stop as Myungsoo’s slicky hair felt so nice. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have invited myself to your place so it wouldn’t turn out this way. She’ll be alright, come on.”

They heard somebody cleared their throat. Myungsoo got out of Sungyeol’s embrace and wiped his eyes quickly before facing the doctor who was watching them with pursed lips and furrowed eyebrows.

“She never eats such things, I have no idea why… this time… I really look after her well, doctor, I swear”

“I have never said that you don’t, young man. She’s going to be fine. But she needs to stay for the night, and you can pick her up tomorrow afternoon. “

“That’s a relief! I’ll come with you!” Sungyeol patted Myungsoo’s back

“You’re telling me it was the first time your cat ate spicy food, right?”

“Yes, I don’t know what’s gotten into her, really!”

“It’s good that you observe your pet so well. It can really help to save it sometimes. If you say she hasn’t done that before it’s probably because she’s intimidated.”

“What? It’s impossible” Myungsoo protested, “I’ve never hurt her!”

“She’s … how to say it… The spicy food that she ate… did you perhaps eat it in usual circumstances or maybe shared it with someone…” he eyed Sungyeol for a moment and finished, “… or something?”

“But what does that have to do with it?”

“You see, sometimes, when animals feel jealous over other animals or people, they tend to try to become like the source of their owner’s new interest, you know? Some cats tend to become very vocal out of the blue or dogs start eating hay that a new guinea pig loves… Of course they suffer then but they still insist on doing so to butter up to their owner a little to, what they probably think, would help them get their position back. It’s only natural. And maybe that was the case with your cat as well – she normally doesn’t eat any leftover food but this time she noticed that you ate it with somebody elese and she felt intimidated or worried that the person would take over her place so she wanted to prevent it by showing you that she likes what you like too, and you can still love her”

When the doctor finished Myungsooo and Sungyeol were speechless. Their mouths were hanging low and they looked at each other with round eyes.

“Anyways, she’s going to be fine, you can pick her up tomorrow. I have some things to do, therefore I’m leaving you now, you are free to go”

“Did you hear that?”

“What nonsense! How would I replace her? Like, hello, I’m not a pet”

“Obviously she treats you as her equal” Myungsoo cracked up

“What’s wrong with you, crybaby? Not going to cry anymore? Are you going to make fun of me now? You’re coming back home on your own!” obviously offended, Sungyeol turned around and started walking. What is the other thinking? That he can make fun of Sungyeol and compare him to some kind of a cat? He’s not going to allow anyone to compare him to anything! If Myungsoo thinks that a cat is smart enough to compare it to Sungyeol than fine! Sungyeol wishes him all the best!

He was tramping through the corridor while cooling down and actually trying to remember what exactly agitated him so much when he stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of the keys rattling on the other end of the corridor and he knew he was doomed. He turned around to see Myungsoo shaking his keys with a triumphant smile on his stupid face. How could he had left the fudging keys on the chair?! He’s carrying way too many keys, seriously. Three keys to his hometown house and gate, two to his own house, his car, his basketball locker, two keys to the Thunders club gym if he wants to practice before or after the opening hours, one to Daeyeol’s house although the latter hardly ever locks his door with a key, he uses the code instead, two to Sungkyu’s house and another one to Sungkyu’s car, two to Woohyun’s apartment and staircase keys and the bundle felt so heavy in his pocket that he left it on the chair! And he forgot about them and seriously, how is he going to deny that his brain is the size of the one of a cat!

“Maybe I’m driving your car and you’re going back home on your own!” Myungsoo teased.

“What! MyungSoo! No! Stop! You’re not driving my car! Just when was the last time you were behind the wheel?”

Myungsoo looked around pretending to be surprised and asked himself: “What’s that? Meowing? But there’s nobody here! I must went crazy worrying about Byeol”

“Myungsoo! I AM TALKING TO YOU!”

“You wouldn’t do that if I wasn’t holding your keys! That’s the only thing that matters!”

“Of course,” Sungyeol kept a poker face and noticed the corner of Myungsoo’s lips quivering, “but okay…” he sighed, “…maybe you are right, you know. It’s all my fault. If what the doctor said is true then I’m the only one to blame for the incident. I just don’t know why your cat might think that I could be some sort of a threat to her. Here. Take the car documents in case the police stop you. I’m going to have a walk”

“Either way you decide to leave me all alone. Thanks. That’s exactly what you can expect from Lee brothers, wow.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. I don’t need your stuff.” He pushed the documents and the keys into Sungyeol’s arms and walked away.

Watching the other’s back, Sungyeol thought about the special coffee Myungsoo made him and the fact that the other happily took him in when Sungyeol had kind of gate crushed earlier because he had nothing to do at home. And, maybe he doesn’t understand it but the cat must mean a lot to Myungsoo – many times had he heard that pets are like family to some people, it’s all Sungyeol’s fault that the cat got ill and now Myungsoo’s all alone and of course Daeyeol wouldn’t help him out because he hates the cat and is probably going to downplay the problem when, or if. Myungsoo tells him about it.

Sungyeol’s not the type to change his mind easily when he decides upon something. He fought his brother many times because of that; luckily, the boys learned how to get the better of him so that he doesn’t even notice or sometimes they just don’t care and let him be – by which he loses interest in the issue and everybody can move on. And that’s why running after Myungsoo right now feels like the worst thing ever – he’d happily throw himself into the empty swimming pool instead of losing and revealing his weakness so he just throws a little tantrum in the middle of the corridor before he clenches his teeth runs after the other.

“Myungsoo!”

“Go away you stray cat! I’m not going to replace Byeol with you!” he answered without turning around.

“Myungie~~” Sungyeol covered his mouth at the cringy sound he made and nervously looked around with his eyes big as the moon praying that nobody noticed that. The waterfall of shame flew over him hard. To make things worse, Myungsoo turned around with his cheeks full of air and cracked up right into Sungyeol’s face.

Sungyeol had to make it through Myungsoo’s laughing stages from clapping his thigh and holding his stomach up to squatting down on the floor.

“You done?”

Sungyeol walked up and pushed Myungsoo on the forehead with his index finger making the other swung backwards and end up on the ground.

“I was going to forget about it, you know? But now, you’re doomed” Myungsoo grabbed Sungyeol’s hand who helped him get up.

“I’ll drive you home and you won’t tell anyone, how does that sound to you?”

“Maybe, if it was a few months ago I would agree to that. But now? Over my dead body”

“Aigo, don’t make me kill you, who’s going to get on my nerves then”

“Excuse me? Am I getting on your nerves? It’s you who’s getting in my hair! And why are you following me? Leave me alone!”

“I’m going to give you a lift home”

“I’m not getting into your car”

“Come on, it’s too far away to go on foot”

“I’ll take my time”

“Then, I’m going with you”

They strolled for a moment in silence. The night was chilly and their ears and noses already got red. Sungyeol wasn’t used to wearing warm clothes as he mainly moves around in a car, and Myungsoo didn’t think about taking a scarf or something with him while they were rushing out.

“Whoa, it’s getting cold, isn’t it?”

“Myungsoo… Are we good now?”

“Yeah”

“So maybe-“

“Good idea”

“How do you know what I want to say?”

“Let’s go back by car?”

“yeah, and-“

“I’d be happy if you do that, but I don’t want to burden you”

“B-but” Sungyeol froze and pointed his finger at the other, “H-how?”

Myungsoo shrugged his shoulders and they strode off towards the car.

Sungyeol was sure Myungsoo thought that he’s taking him to his place so that Myungsoo doesn’t get reminded about the cat for the night and Myungsoo was sure Sungyeol is going to stay with him at his place. Oh boy, I can already smell another argument in the air.

*

“Your place? Weren’t we going to mine?”

“I thought you agreed?”

“I thought you agreed, too!”

“I did!”

“But on my place, not yours!”

“Ah, come on, it’s better for you to stay at my place tonight, at your home everything would remind you of Star”

“Well, maybe you’re right”

“I’m sorry for gatecrashing and bringing the chicken”

“That’s okay, I sort of wanted you to come…”

“Really?”

“I felt like eating chicken but didn’t want to go out to get it,” Myungsoo snorted and pressed the button to call the lift, “where are you going?” he watched Sungyeol walking towards the stairs, “The lift’s going to be here in a second”

“I… I need to burn down some calories! I’ll take the stars”

“Ah, I forgot that you’re a scaredy cat”

“I’m not! I just need to burn down some-“

“Yeah, whatever,” Myungsoo grinned as he was pushed inside the lift and Sungyeol followed inside.

“You satisfied? I’m not a scaredy cat!”

As soon as the door closed Sungyeol started singing stray kids’s “hellevator” under his nose making Myungsoo crak up and push him a little, “Seriously”

Sungyel grinned back and started singing a little bit louder modifying the lyrics into, “Can you hug me, I’m so scared” – of course with his hand gestures he was overdoing it but deep inside he didn’t feel 100% safe.

“Come here” Myungsoo played along and opened his arms ready to welcome the other but it was the moment they reached their floor, the bell rang and Sungyeol poked his tongue at the other and jumped out of the lift.

**Kakaotalk gyu namu dong dae chat**

  
Dae: Hyungs! Why are you hyungs so handsome? You are all so wonderful and Sungyeol is lucky to have you as best friends!! I feel so jealous

Kenya ㅋㅋㅋ

Gyu: what do you want?

Dae : i want to treat you!! But in secret!

Woohyun: i’m not sure, really

Dae: please, I’ll buy anything you want!

Kenya: you can count on me!

Namstar: wait wait

Namstar: meat and soju and beer!

Dae: ok!

Namstar: i might find some time for you, brother!

Gyu: when?

Dae: it would be perfect if you find time this evening

Gyu: I don’t mind

Namstar: 7pm?

Kenya: sounds good

Dae: Please, I can’t pick you all up but I promise I will make sure you come back home safely

Gyu: I can pick you up from Sungyeol’s place

Dae: but he will ask questions! It’s supposed to be a secret, remember?

Gyu: ok! I’ll pick up Woohyun and then you, Dongowoo

Namstar: we have to think of a plan what to say to yeol, he’s gonna torment us with never-ending questions until somebody breaks down and spills the beans and then he’ll pester us some more asking why we didn’t take him with us!

Dongwoo: i’ll tell him that I’m editing the video

Gyu: I’ll tell him that I feel sick, but I hope lying to him is worth it, Dae!!

Gyu: <burning dog emoji>

Namstar: i’ll tell him that I’m going to your place to look after you

Gyu: pf! He’s never going to believe it

Namstar: unless you say it’s contagious or something

Namstar: you can always say you’ve caught a stomach bug

Gyu: my pride is going to suffer but ok

Dae: thanks! See you at 7!

  
  


  
As soon as he saw the holly trinity walking into the restaurant, Daeyeol stood up to greet them. He was grateful that they took his invitation seriously and got dressed up nicely.  
“Hyungs! You are so handsome, indeed. I already ordered drinks so let me serve you!”  
“That’s ok, Dae, we can help ourselves, skip the formalities and hit us”  
“That’s right! I’m dying...”

“...of thirst” Woohyun grabbed the bottle of beer and poured some into their glasses  
“How did we earn this generosity of yours?”

“Just your presence is praiseworthy! I’m thankful that you live and are well!”

  
Sungkyu, who took a seat next to DaeYeol ruffled his hair in such an older-brotherly way that the waitress who was carrying meat to their table giggled and send them a warm smile.

“woow the meat is here!”

“Daeyeol really is no joke!” Dongwoo opened his eyes wide as another plate of raw meat was placed at the table.

“I think I know what it’s all about”

“Tell us, Sungkyu let’s see what kind of a fortune teller you are!”  
“DaeYeol wants to borrow some money”

“Why would he spend so much on us then?”

“You have to invest first, then you earn profits, that’s how it goes in business”

“Since when are you an expert in finances, huh?” Dongwoo poured them another round

“SungKyu hyung is an expert in anything” Daeyeol raised a glass encouraging the rest to drink; Dongwoo laughed at the fake praise and couldn’t drink properly for a while.

“We will always help you with anything!” Woohyun said unnaturally loud and then leaned towards Dongwoo to murmur to him, “As long as you treat us” and they both giggled

“Look, I know that I can always talk freely about anything with you, but what I want to talk about…” he sighed, “…it’s not easy”

“Oh my god, Dae, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into?”

  
“It’s the bet!”

“The bet, oh my god, did you lose a lot of money? When’s the payback deadline?”

DaeYeol looked at Dongwoo with an emotionless face, “Hyungs, really? You guys are really so slow?”

“Of course we know what kind of bet you’re talking about!” SungKyu defended the honour of the hyung line, “what’s the problem, you don’t want to do it anymore?”

“I really want Sungyeol not to butt into my life and I thought I’d really do anything just to make him mind his own business but lately, I’ve been thinking that this is too much”

“Ladies and gentlemen, Daeyeol’s conscience has made its debut!”

“That’s not funny, Woohyun. I know that winning the bet is probably the only thing to keep my brother’s mouth shut about my life, and in the beginning I thought it’d be a piece of cake to win it, since MyungSoo is so handsome and well-mannered and stuff but I found out that he’s not the one for me and you know, isn’t it kind of wrong to play him like that?”

“This is something we can’t help you with, you know that?”SungKyu sighed

“Yeah, it’s your decision, solely”

“There is someone I like”

“Again?!” The three hyungs asked in unison

“He’s the reason why I became like this,” he poured some soju into his beer and drank it up in one go. “Hyungs!”

“What’s on your mind?”

“You…you aren’t thinking about… killing Myungsoo or something like that?”

Dongwoo laughed before turning to Woohyun, “Nonsense! How can you…?” he looked at DaeYeol’s serious face and his own expression turned into an anxious one

“I met a man who made my days once. You may understand the feeling…” he looked at Sungyu and Woohyun “…it changes your life completely. But as the time went by, and I wanted him more than just a friend whom I hanged out with every day, he also developed strange headaches. He went to examine himself and they found it was a tumour. At that time, we didn’t know much, they had to take a sample to get to know what it was and I panicked and confessed my feelings for him in a letter like a coward. I literally passed him the envelope and told him I was in a hurry for the lectures…”

“Confessing is a hard thing to do” Dongwoo clinked his glass with DaeYeol’s glass and drank the contents up.

“At first he was just standing there surprised but when I was about to turn around the corner he shouted from the other side of the street ‘Don’t worry I will read it well’”, DaeYeol smiled at the thought, “he’s so noisy, I swear”

“So what about the results of his checkup?”

“He confessed back to me before informing me that he’s going to get treatment in Japan”

“And how did it go?”

“Ah, wait, he’s not here with you… does that mean…” SungKyu grabbed Daeyeol’s hand.

“It turned out it was cancer and after they cut off the tumour he had to undergo chemotherapy to get rid of any diseased tissues that may have been left after the operation… Life is unpredictable. One day you hear the confession and the other day the person may disappear from your side… But he made it through the convalescence”

The three listeners sighed with relief

“Oh my god, what a story!”

“If he made it, where is he now?”

“He’s back in Korea. And we’ve already met. And I don’t want to lose him again. Not for a minute!” He watched Dongwoo pour everybody a round. “But! I also can’t lose the bet! And, Myungsoo would hate me for life when he gets to know about the bet, what should I tell him now? Hi MyungSoo, we can’t be together you know? Just like that I got bored? He’d leave me and I’d lose the bet! This is so sick!”

“Maybe you should introduce that man to us, you know.”

“That way, you’d naturally move away from Myungsoo”

“This is really the worst! Myungsoo is already our friend”

“If I leave him later, he’d get over it somehow, but if I told him that we made a bet over him… oh god”

“Shit”

“Betting over anyone, when feelings come into play isn’t right…wait, it’s never right, one should never ever do such a thing”

“Well, tell Sungyeol about it, it was his idea!”

“I guess he didn’t think that you’d keep going for such a long time! It’s been so much time already, right?” Woohyun was trying to keep the mood up a little with a small smile.

“And nobody would guess that we’d befriend that man so easily”

“He’s so kind-hearted”

“By the way, didn’t he say once that his career shredded into pieces because of his injury?”

“Yeah, once”

“Or twice…”

“He’s so pitful”

“Yeah, guess he’s really Bad Luck Brian”

“It’s not funny anymore… and I have to deal with all this somehow… I thought you, hyungs, would help me out”

“Well…” it was this rare situation when Sungkyu couldn’t think of anything sensible to say.

“What would you like us to do? I can’t imagine any of us telling MyungSoo the truth, it looks like he’s blended in so well…” Woohyun lost his small smile and they sighed in unison.

“I can’t imagine telling him either, it’s like… wouldn’t that be too much of misfortune in his life?”

“Damn, if you guys ever make a bet like this or something and decide to keep it away from me, I’m begging you, don’t you ever dare to tell me about no matter what… things would never be the same again after I got to know…”

“That’s so creepy”

“I know, right, oh my god we are the worst”

“You shouldn’t have started it in the first place, I told you nothing good’s going to come out of it”

“Thanks, DongWoo, but you’re not helping, you know”

“So it looks like there’s no better option but to keep it a secret from him… which means I have to keep it up until the end of the season and then just break up with him to kill two birds with one stone… Man, I didn’t have to blow my money for this supper to realise this… Aigo, it brings me back to square one…” Daeyeol’s head hit the surface of the table and he covered his head with his arms earning a pat on the back from the one sitting next to him.


	15. realisations

It was their little tradition to take Christmas selfies every year. The first photos were taken by old cameras with the dark film inside, which they had to bring to the photographer to have the pictures developed. And they kept them all in a special photo album.

As soon as Sungkyu got into high school and got a part time job one summer, he bought a polaroid camera and that year the photos were smaller than usual but they made lots of them back then instead.

In the beginning, it was only the two of them – Sungyeol and Woohyun. Soon, Sungkyu was in the pictures, too. Daeyeol started hanging out with them at one point when Sungyeol deemed that he’s mature enough. Some years later they befriended Sungjong and then Dongwoo, until the last member in their pack appeared – Hoya:

“God, I looked like an idiot with this purple hair, can’t we just forget about it, let’s throw this one away, only this one, hm?”

“But here, a year later, you looked like an idiot, too”

“Yeah, so what do you want us to do? Throw away all the pictures with you in them?”

“Hoya, Hoya, we can’t do that, but but but! I’ve got an idea! You can turn your back to the camera this year”

Dongwoo started laughing at the thought.

“Or, we’ll bring him these glasses with a moustache attached” Sungjong giggled

“Let’s buy him a mask of a famous person!”

“Lee SunShin!”

“Barrack Obama!”

“He’d have to get a nice tan before the Christmas then”

“Come on guys, it’s the way he was back then, he expressed himself through this purple hair somehow”

“Sungkyu, you can’t possibly believe in what you’re saying now”

“Well, true.” Sungkyu snorted and lifted the glass up in a toast.

“Okay, okay, let’s get ready! Is everybody ready?”

“Wait a moment, Sungyeol, give me time to learn from everybody’s previous mistakes once and for all…” Hoya showed his fangs as he goes through the album again and giggles at the outfits from Christmas of 2003.

Everybody found their places behind Hoya and Sungyeol could press the self-timer and place himself between Sungkyu and Woohyun with his arms around the both men.

The flash blinded them a little and it was all done.

“Hey! I was still looking at the album!”

“Grandpa Hoya reading a story for his grandchildren on Christmas of 2018”

They bursted out laughing at grandpa Hoya and Sungyeol brought the phone back so that they could check if the picture came out well.

“Oh no, I closed my eyes!” SungJong complained

“Sungyeol, you stood on your toes on purpose, didn’t you?” Sungkyu punched the tallest playfully

“Yeah, you made us look like dwarfs!” Woohyun squatted down in a mental breakdown.   
“We have to retake it!”

“Sorry, you know the rules!”

The rule was that they could take the picture only once.

“Fine, I’ll print it out tomorrow and we could stick it to the album of shame”

“When did it turn into the album of shame?”

“Since Hoya’s purple hair!”

“Since your fancy clothes guys, these polo shorts with popped collars, I think my hair lost to that!”

“What do you know, granps?”

“Come on, let’s open the presents!”

*******

“Sungyeol!”

“…he’s spacing out again,”

“Hey, man, what’s your problem?”

Sungyeol gets pushed out of his pondering by the driver.

“Earth to Sungyeol!”

“Oh? What?” the tallest blinked his eyes a few times.

“Stay with us, where’s your mind wandering these days?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing, really…”

“If you say so… Hey, MyungSoo have you got the camera?!”

“Yeah” MyungSoo sighs

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you excited?” DongWoo laughed

“He’s missing his boyfriend, leave him alone”

“I can be your substitute boyfriend for tonight-” WooHyun threw his arm around MyungSoo and pulled him closer and that was when Sungkyu shouted “Ouch!” swearing that WooHyun hit him in the process. WooHyun was 100% sure he didn’t but had no desire to continue the topic. He only let himself fanboy internally because Sungkyu was so jealous and it felt so nice.

“It’s so unexpected that Daeyeol had to leave, again. Man, he’s so busy and, whoah, America is calling our man, I can’t believe he chose some kind of workshop over Hoya’s performance!”

“He’s a prick” somebody commented

“Indeed” DongWoo answered absent-mindedly before they burst out laughing. Myungsoo didn’t even try to stop them from badmouthing his boyfriend because he, too, thought that Daeyeol sacrifices way too much for the sake of his job; he only whined about the lense again:

“But! I’d do better pictures with the lense I left at DaeYeol’s place” and he expressed his slight dissatisfaction with a pout.

“Really? But it’s on our way, we could drop by-”

“It’s no use though.. because I don’t know the passcode!”

“He hasn’t given you the passcode to his apartment, yet?!”

Myungsoo shrugged his shoulders, “If he doesn’t want to, I shouldn’t push on it”

“Don’t fret, I know the passcode, drive us there, Dongwoo!” Sungyeol patted the driver on the arm and looked back to smile encouragingly at MyungSoo and it made him feel strangely _useful_ and MyungSoo’s little smile and an eager nod seemed like the best payment for his decision.

Everybody cheered and WooHyun even made a certain movements with his hands as if he was dancing, shouting “Fiesta!!” 

The car stopped in front of a state-of-art block of flats.

“Come on, Myung,” SungYeol was opening the front door as he was sitting on the passenger’s seat next to the Dino driver.

“No way! MyungSoo’s staying here! You go and quickly fetch the lense”

“And what am I? An errand boy? I’m about to save the day and you want to order me around? You greedy beasts”

The boys at the back started whining that there’re four of them squeezed in the back seat and there’s no room to swing a cat, and MyungSoo’s sitting in the middle and that they protest and beg SungYeol to come back quickly so that they can go and get out as fast as possible at their destination.

SungYeol grinned at his friends and walked towards the entrance to the building. Before he entred the staircase he heard them boys shouting through the open window of the car:

“Hurry up!”

So he only waved his hand without turning around to face them before he disappeared behind the entrance.

  
SungYeol was humming PSY’s “Daddy” as he was walking along the corridor and until he reached the door to DaeYeol’s apartment.

“I wonder why he hasn’t given MyungSoo the code…” he asks himself as he pushes the door and feels heavy on his heart.

There’re lighted candles left on the kitchen counter and a quiet music can be heard from Daeyeol’s bedroom; the dim light coming from the door left ajar makes SungYeol feel uncomfortable.

DaeYeol must have allowed his friends to use his apartment while he’s away in America. But wait, isn’t that strange that he gives the passcode to some random people and hesitates to give it to MyungSoo?

SungYeol stops the stream of thoughts by shrugging his shoulders and he tries to quickly localise the lens so that he can leave unnoticed. Unfortunately for him, the boys decided to remind him that they are waiting impatiently in the car in front of the building and his ringtone echoed around the whole place like a siren: “pick me pick me pick me up~~ pick me pick me~-“

SungYeol declined the call as soon as he could but obviously, it was too late.

The music in the room died down and he heard the mattress crack due to the movement.

It was no use to escape now, as he could already hear the smacking sounds of bare feet on the floor. The shadow of a person coming out was getting more and more visible but why don’t they ask who’s entered the apartment yet? Shouldn’t they be freaking out now?

And that’s the moment when DaeYeol wearing only shorts appears in front of him, as white as a ghost.

“SungYeol?”

“Dae?”

“What are you doing here?”

“What are you? Weren’t you supposed to be in Ameri-“

“DY, who’s that?” somebody’s voice was coming from the room

“It’s fine, it’s my brother! I’ll be back in a moment!”

The two brothers stood like that, without saying a word, different thoughts running through their heads. Suddenly SungYeol felt so bad for Myungsoo.

“What are you doing here?” Deyeol asked again with an undisguised surprise in his voice as what’s happening now was supposed to be a nicely covered secret. Oh well, who else could ruin his thoroughly planned moment of euphoria? Of course it’s the one and only – his older brother.

“It was so close,” SungYeol showed DaeYeol the distance between his middle finger and his thumb, “literally this close to MyungSoo actually coming here with me! Are you out of your mind?!”

“But he didn’t in the end, so there’s no problem. _Why are you here_?” the younger brother was getting more and more irritated

SungYeol couldn’t believe his ears. There’s no problem? How come there’s no problem? DaeYeol is lying to everyone about everything and that poor MyungSoo… SungYeol felt so guilty. This whole bet was his idea after all. But there’s no time now.

“I’m here to grab MyungSoo’s camera lens”

“It’s on the tv shelf. Close the door behind you after you leave, please”

And just like that he walked back to the bedroom leaving SungYeol dumbstruck.

The tall only got back to himself after a while ad walked to fetch the lense before he left the apartment still feeling uneasy. Watching the lense closely as if that could help him get over the shock he had encountered moments ago, he thought about the whole situation kind of getting out of hand. But wait, it’s not going to get revealed if he keeps his mouth shut, right? That’s what he should do now, right? Right…. Not having much time to ponder upon it further he promised himself to take this information with him to the grave.

He reached the car to all boys joyfully cheering on him and WooHyun even hummed the famous melody from Vangelis “chariots of fire” . With a grave face SungYeol passed the lense to MyungSoo and everybody immediately noticed that something was off.

“What happened?”

“Did you see a ghost?”

SungYeol sighed, “I… think I’m worried about him. Dae. Has he contacted you, MyungSoo?”

“Oh? Isn’t it early in the morning there right now?” MyungSoo checked on his phone, “It’s nearly 7 in the morning”

“He must be sleeping then. Maybe I’ll give him a call later.” His words sounded strange to his ears. The rest of the trip, he was devoured by his thoughts and the screams and laughter of his friends sounded as if they were far, far away from him.

After a half-an-hour ride they reached the venue. The boys from the back crawled out of the car feeling wonderfully salvated like shipwrecks crawling onto the shore. WooHyun wanted to kiss the ground and SungKyu announced that he’s not going to go back into the backseat again.

“Maybe DongWoo could travel back with Hoya,” Sungjong proposed.

“Me? Why?” DongWoo laughed, “You don’t like my driving?”

“Hoya had to be here early but if he doesn’t have to stay after the performance and we can travel back at the same time, it’s actually a good idea. Four people in the backseat feels like dying”

“Speaking of dying, I’m starving. Is there anything to eat here?”

“Aww SungKyu you sensitive princess”

“Who are you calling princess, you wanna die?” SungKyu rolled up his sleeve and added under his breath, “a prince, if anything”

“Whoa! Is that a blush?” WooHyun jumped excitedly which made DongWoo laugh like crazy

“MyungSoo! Take a picture of him, quickly!!! MyungSoo! Myungsoo?”

MyungSoo was checking his phone for messages hoping to get one from his boyfriend. He didn’t receive any message though. He pushed his phone into the back pocket of his black jeans and looked at the boys with a sad smile on his face. “Hm? You were saying?”

“Come on, let’s grab something to eat!” SungJong grabbed MyungSoo’s hand and pulled him towards the venue.

The rest of the boys followed right after, bickering. DongWoo’s laugh echoed all over the parking place.

Only Sungyeol slouched behind them immersed in his thoughts and watching Myungsoo’s back.

No sooner had they finished stuffing their mouths with snacks when the show started. The first contestants, a couple, were dressed in fancy silver clothes during their performance. They’re dancing contemporary dance to some sort of dramatic music. Dongwoo was closely following the couple with his eyes and mouth wide open, SungKyu wasn’t interested in the performance at all as he was going through twitter on is phone and was trying to hide the screen from Woohyun who was trying to peek through SungKyu’s shoulder. SungJong was watching the dance without any emotions and Sungyeol couldn’t take his eyes off MyungSoo.

He was thinking about how much MyungSoo actually enjoyed the physical contact. _Not with just everyone._ MyungSoo always looked for Daeyeol and his touch, even if it was only a hip touching hip when they sat next to each other, even a hand brushed over the top of the head as he walks past a place where Daeyeol was sitting – to think about it – how did he not notice that they hardly ever sat together? But now, when Sungyeol thinks about it, it has nevrr been the other way round. His brother didn’t look for the conact. Maybe Daeyeol wasn’t the type to show off his affection? He definitely wanted to show off his beautiful boyfriend in the beginning but this time, again, he must have gotten bored quickly.

And so he watched MyungSoo taking out his phone and sighing at it. Then he typed something and locked the screen. Sungyeol wanted to help him somehow, he felt guilty of all this situation but then “pick me pick me pick me up~~” announced an incoming call again and distracted him from thinking. The sound of the ringtone wasn’t loud enough to overcome the music from the performance but some people still sent SungYeol hostile glances and he felt his face burning.

It was Hoya calling him. Probably wanted to check if they arrived at the venue. Sungyeol answered the phone and immediately forgot about the embarrassment of his loud ringtone.

“What’s up man? Have you, perhaps shit your pants already before the perf?”

_“Very funny. Ha.Ha. Sugyeol, listen, you have to take the guys and quickly come near the backstage”_

“Why? They won’t let us in anyways”

_“It’s a matter of life and death, hurry up!”_

He hanged up.

SungYeol passed the news to SungJong and Dongwoo, who were sitting at his both sides and then DongWoo patted Myungsoo who patted Woohyun who passed the news to SungKyu and everybody left towards the backstage, intrigued, murmuring excusemes and sorrys to the audience they passed by.

Hoya was waiting for them at the entrance to the backstage, shirtless and with no trace of sanity in his eyes. He was holding a piece of black fabric in his hand.

“What’s happened?” SungYeol asked as they shared a homie handshake.

“Uooh nice abs” DongWoo laughed after poking Hoya’s stomach

_But Hoya’s eyes were solely on MyungSoo and there was some relief in his voice when he uttered, “I’ve never thought I’d say this but… I love you, MyungSoo…”_

Dongwoo felt as if time stopped for him. He was looking at his friends’ faces trying to read from their expressions if they had heard the same.

Sungyeol quickly turned his eyes from Hoya to Myungsoo and he wished Hoya hadn’t said it. The words. Hoya’s words directed at Myungsoo felt so heavy and somehow unbearable for the tall one.

Sungjong looked as if he had solved the same mathematical task for the hundredth time but got the wrong result this time. 

_But Hoya’s eyes were solely on MyungSoo and there was some relief in his voice when he uttered, “I’ve never thought I’d say this but I love you, MyungSoo…”_

“…you saved… you will save the performance!” He dried his eyes so that the tears won’t ruin his makeup for the show and then he unfolded the black piece of fabric he was holding; it was jagged and had holes here and there. “I don’t know how this happened! It must have gotten stuck into the suitcase zip or something”

He looked at MyungSoo with puppy eyes and some of the boys sighed with relief suddenly understanding what the confession really meant – MyungSoo was wearing a plain black skinny tshirt that could save Hoya’s performance.

DongWoo started laughing hysterically almost falling down on the floor due to the sudden realization – he felt relieved that he could blame the tears in his eyes on excessive laughter and SungJong started fanning himself with today’s performance program to cool down.

After handing his camera to SungKyu, MyungSoo stepped forward and while smiling and nodding his head, he answered theatrically, “I love you too”. And he swiftly took off the black tshirt and handed it to Hoya who grabbed it and ran back into the backstage shouting: “I owe you!”

“Fweet! Your back is no joke!” WooHyun commented and MyungSoo turned around to face his friends with a shy smile. He felt strangely naked.

“It’s not a big deal” the day saviour was trying to brush the comment off and cover his body somehow; it was a moment when Sungyeol started taking off his sweatshirt through his head

“Ua! What’s this?!” DongWoo jumped to MyungSoo and grabbed him by the hands revealing the porcelain skin on MyungSoo’s stomach and laughing his head off. Again.

SungKyu snorted while covering his mouth because of both DongWoo’s antics and what he saw on MyungSoo’s abdomen.

“It’s a love mark! Wow! It’s placed so low!” SungJong exclaimed and bent closer to get a better look

SungYeol just won a fight with his sweatshirt and was able to see he world. The comments and the view made him feel as if somebody splashed glowing metal in his insides. He walked up to MyungSoo and made sure that he’s standing directly on the line MyungSoo – guys. He pushed the sweatshirt over MyungSoo’s head and helped him fit his arms into the sleeves. Mission complete. “Thanks” Myungsoo mutters in a way that’s almost inaudible and Sungyeol makes sure his face is well covered by his hair as he finds this situation intimidating.

“Why thanks SungYeol, you spoilsport!” diva Sungjong threw the programme leaflet into the tallest direction.

“You’re welcome” Sungyeol answered unanimously. He saw SungKyu fiddling with the camera so he took it from him without a word and passed it back to its owner.

“…but how was he able to mark him down there?” WooHyun was tilting his head from one side to the other trying to suck onto SungKyu’s arm in a desperate trial to get to learn about making hickeys.

“Calm down you algae eater!”

*

“Ladies and gentlemen! That were the last year’s semi-finalists of the national dancing competition! Give them a big hand! And now, welcome the last year’s finalist with her dance instructor Lee Howon substituting for the dancer who got injured two weeks ago!! Cheer up to their modern dance choreography called “it’s me, you….dumbass?!” the host couldn’t hide his surprise and read the title of the performance again, with more confidence: “That’s right! >>It’s me you dumbass!<< Applause!”

DongWoo had a laughing seizure again and even Myungsoo couldn’t help but clap his thighs in laughter. SungKyu laughed secretly and had an internal discussion between _himself and himself_ about why he loves these dorks while he should really stay away from this pure form of hellish source of embarrassment.

But when the first gentle sounds of the music echoed around the place, everybody’s mouths either dropped down or shut up if they were speaking. And was it cold, or did the goosebumps come from the powerful combo of _DongWoo’s voice_ in the song and the dancers beginning their performance in perfect sync?

Sungyeol, who was sitting right next to Dongwoo felt how the other boy stood up in surprise with his eyes open wide and his mouth hanging low in an utter shock. Dongwoo looked from one side to the other trying to get a confirmation from his friends that what he’s hearing isn’t his imagination only. SungKyu pointed his finger at the stage and encouraged Dongwoo to watch the show and not skip a single moment of the sharp movements of the dancers.

Everybody was mesmerised by the couple moving smoothly as if their bodies were made of some liquid. The emotions bursting from the dance touched even the ones who only came to the show by chance. SungJong was brushing a tear off his face and he accidentally nudged SungYeol with his elbow. The contact woke SungYeol up from the spell he was under due to the performance and for a moment he looked at Myungsoo who was… smelling in the scent of the sweatshirt.

_Hey baby, can you hold my hand?_

_Can you meet me up every night?_

_Can you go with me, wherever you want?_

_I’ll buy it for you._

_People* around you, I don’t mind_

_Come out quickly we ain’t got no time_

_We resemble of one another so we understand each other_

_Do not leave my side_

_You know I'm the one_

_You know I'm the one_

_You know I'm the one_

_Tell me that you love me_

_You're mine_

_Please never forget_

_Baby what you doing_

_You can come right to me_

_We light each other's_

_We are meant for each other_

_Yes, we are_

When the performance stopped and everybody got out of the shock that they were in, as nobody was expecting that, even Sungjong wasn’t aware of what Hoya plotted.

The audience couldn’t stop applauding even after the lights were switched back on and the boys were patting DongWoo’s back and sending him reassuring smiles and Woohyun even jumped onto the rapper’s back.

“What is the meaning of this?” Dongwoo laughed but one could still read from his face that he was in shock.

“It was your song!”

“Wow, wait, oh my god? So DongWoo’s secret admirer… >>It’s me you dumbass?<< It’s….!”

Sungyeol watch Sungkyu pointing his thumb at the stage and asking Woohyun if he knew that Hoya was Dongwoo’s secret admirer. And then it somewhat hit Sungyeol, too. It’s me you dumbass. What a way to announce it, man. Well, to be honest, looking at DongWoo, Sungyeol isn’t fully sure if the man got the message across. Only Sungjong didn’t seem much affected. But nobody knew that he’s been receiving information on it first-hand from the very source. What he did not know though, was DongWoo’s feelings. He felt the pleasant itching of curiosity inside and hoped things would turn out quickly to satisfy his curiosity.

“And now! After the standing ovation for the last pair, let’s applaud all the performers from today’s contest!! Thank you! The jury will now go to vote and, in the meantime, let’s enjoy the fire eaters and their performance! Don’t get too burned! Let’s wait for the final results first! Ha ha ha!”

Everybody went back near the backstage to meet Hoya who was already waiting for them with his hands in his pockets and anxiety written all over his face.

“That was amazing!”

“I’m so gonna eat every bar of soap for you now!”

“Congratulations!

Hoya smiled nervously at the praise because at that moment he was waiting for only one person to express their opinion. He didn’t even care about winning the contest or not at this time.

DongWoo walked up to him, all beaming when he asked: “Why did you change the title of my song into >>It’s me you dumbass<<?” he laughed and everybody literally face palmed themselves at DongWoo being so dull.

“I found that it suited you better”

“You think I’m a dumbass?”

“I think that you’re the one…” Hoya watch Dongwoo laugh nervously, “..and it’s time to sing the song to your secret admirer”

Suddenly, Dongwoo covered his mouth with his hand but he should be coveing his eyes instead because they were about to pop out in shock at the suddenl realisation going down on him: “Secret admirer? Is it your dancing partner?! That girl?!”

Hoya’s smile faded away and all he could do was just stare at the idiot in front of him. When he was about to open his mouth the host of the night started his speech:

“Thank you for the waiting! The jury was unanimous and thanks to their quick decision we can announce the results! The performers are all asked again on stage right now!”  
  


Hoya had to go back and MyungSoo and Sungjong grabbed Dongwoo by the arms and they all left to watch the finale.

“Dongwoo seriously!” Sungyeol nagged

“What?”  
“You really didn’t get it?” SungKyu waved his hand in front of Dongwoo’s face.

“Get what?”

“Seriously, you aren’t coming back in one car with us!”

“What?! Why~?”

“Whether Hoya wins or not, you go meet him after the results are announced and do what he asked you to”

“What are you talking about?” DongWoo was in a shock and his friends not telling him everything straight as they should made him feel even more confused.

“Just sing the song to him!” They all advised him at the same time.

DongWoo looked up at the stage and got reminded about the situation when Hoya walked in on him as he was singing the song and when he told the other that’s it’s the song for the secret admirer. And how he received all the messages that sounded as if the admirer knew him so well, and when he met Hoya right there in a place where he was supposed to meet the admirer but the latter didn’t show up and suddenly he felt as if he was set free from some sort of a cage and that his mind is free and somewhere in the open and that, damn! The song Hoya used was the very song that Dongwoo wrote thinking about the other and… but… how did that little Einstein found out? DongWoo turned around to the boys with blissful madness in his face:

“Guys! Hoya is my secret admirer!”

SungKyu nodded his head confirming what everybody else has discovered what seemed like ages ago compared to Dongwoo while MyungSoo cracked up and started clapping Sungyeol’s arm. Woohyun walked up to DongWoo to squeeze his face and Sungjong drew circles with his indexes at both sides of his head.

“Group hug!” Dongwoo stretched his arms and everybody moved closer to hug one another.

Sungyeol thanked Dongwoo internally as he had been feeling a strange urge to hug the one wearing his sweatshirt and it felt so good to finally do it.

To nobody’s surprise, Hoya won the first place. His career as a dancer found itself by the threshold to the stairway to the big world. He didn’t tell anyone that he’d have to give away half of his half of the money prize for his dancer as she only agreed to work on the new choreo to a new music for money. But he didn’t care. There’s Dongwoo sending him hearts from under the stage and he finds it hard to keep a straight face.

That evening, after getting into his bed, MyungSoo forgot about his phone. He took the camera and went through the pictures from today backwards. How great was his surprise when a picture popped out in which he’s sending a surprised look at SungYeol who’s just put his sweatshirt over MyungSoo’s head with a concern painted on his face. A strange exciting sensation hits MyungSoo’s stomach at the sight. He turns off the camera and puts it onto his nightstand. He glances at SungYeol’s folded sweatshirt on his chair and smiles. He turns the light off and nestles himself comfortably in the bed. Star purrs quietly at his feet lulling him to sleep.

He misses two calls and a message from DaeYeol.


	16. tell me your worries

The boys had bid their quick goodbyes and ran away towards the car before they drove off accompanied with the sound of screetching wheels and engines roaring leaving the two blushing souls alone in the middle of the parking lot.

“So…” Hoya hid his hands in the pockets of his jacket - it was really cold already but he also felt a little embarrassed because of the whole revealing-his-feelings thing. The awkward silence seemed thick on his end before he lifted his eyes up to the sight of the other who, with his mouth opened, was quickly going through some things on his phone before he pushed it clumsily into Hoya’s hands: “here…” he took a quick glance on the dancer who rose his eyebrows in surprise but the music that started playing from the phone explained everything.

And Dongwoo started singing, in the beginning his voice’s trembling a little - a thing caused by all the overwhelming emotions of finally meeting his secret admirer, who also turned out to be the very object of his own true feelings:

It’s not you it’s not you it’s not you

Nothing yeah

Baby only you only you my one and only party

I just need you

I don’t know why it is so good

Preparing flowers on the day I see you

You’re my special day yeah

Baby every day every day yeah

Seeing you everyday is not enough yeah

Maybe Saturday Saturday

Do you have time this weekend?

Hoya nodded his head eagerly which made Dongwoo crack up and skip a few lines before he regained his composure and carried on:

It seems like there is something going on between us

Something between something

Baby you and me

There is something between us right?

Hoya nodded again and bit his knuckles as the whole thing looked too cheesy and kind of cringe worthy but watching Dongwoo fall down to the ground trying to sing through laughter must be way worse than nodding his head eagerly so he decided to end that performance and gave the other a hand in helping him up.

“I think it’s enugh, don’t you agree? We’ll have plenty of time to get bored of the song once you upload it on your account” Hoya flashed his fangs in his trademark smile and they both looked at their hands still clinging to each other before DongWoo squeezed the grip tighter, smiling, “We’re going to upload it together. We. Baby you and me~~” he sang a little but was forced to stop when Hoya pulled him in for a hug and patted his head while smiling brightly because of Dongwoo giggling right next to his chest.

***

A few days later.

Kakaotalk KINGS video chat:

Sungyeol joined the face time with the boys, “Who are you, people? Do we even know one another?”

“Oh my god it only hit me now how much I’ve missed you!” Sungjong sent everyone a kiss

“Hey, who are you sending kisses to? Do you wanna die?” Sungkyu was threatening him with a wooden spoon as he was just cooking dinner; then his voice softened as he talked to his other friend, “Sorry, Sungyeol, but I’m sure you understand that we need some lovey-dovey time for ourselves”

“Well, you know what? No, I don’t”

“Sungyeol is jealous because he doesn’t have anyone to spend time with”

“Shut up, Daeyeol, I don’t need anyone, I need you guys”

“Awwww that’s so sweet, Sungyeol,” Woohyun appeared in the camera and kissed the camera so that for a moment there was only his lips taking up the whole space of the viewing screen. When he moved back he was grinning and pushing his wet hair back.

“Woohyun took a shower, something’s gonna happen later” Dongwoo laughed and Sungkyu started stirring the food faster without lifting his head up from above the stove

“Dongwoo, where are you going? Were’s Hoya?”

“I don’t know why he didn’t pick his phone, I’m on my way to meet him right now”

“Maybe he’s showering, too,” Sungjong noticed and Dongwoo started laughing like crazy

“And Myungsoo?”

“Ah, Myungsoo! I haven’t seen his handsome face for a while now”

“Daeyeol, where’s Myungsoo?”

“He’s sleeping,” Daeyeol moved the camera to the right and showed the boys sleeping Myungsoo, whose milky white skin almost blended with the white colour of the duvet.

“He’s cute”

“Look at the baby fat on his neck, so squishy”

“okay, that’s enough” Daeyeol was grinning when his face appeared in the focus again and Sungyeol felt like disconnecting. Myungsoo was soundly sleeping right next to Daeyeol without knowing anything. And he sleeps with Daeyeol not knowing that the other was with somebody on that night when Sungyeol had to fetch Myungsoo’s camera lense. If his honour cannot let him break the bet, he should at least do everything to make it less painful for Myungsoo. From now on, he’ll try to pull Myungsoo away from Daeyeol.

“What’s that face, Sungyeol?”

“Oh? Nothing, it’s nothing…” Sungyeol waved if off with his free hand and smiled apologetically

“Sungyeol is down… Hey, don’t worry man, we will come visit you tomorrow!” Woohyun smiled

“We’re going to the cinema tomorrow evening,” Sungkyu looked at Woohyun who looked back at him, “Oh crap! I forgot! But… you can come with us, Yeol!”

“Sure! Let’s do it!” Sungkyu looked back at the camera, “Ah, should we feel guilty that we left you alone, like, almost everybody at the same time”

“Like, didn’t you know guys - he’s taken” Sungjong was as sassy as ever

“Yeah, married to basketball”

*Hoya joined the face time*

“Uoooo look who’s here!”

“Hi guys!” Hoya showed his fangs in a smile, “bloods, I missed you so much! What kind of frat party are you organisisng here? Without me?” he added in an unnatural voice

“Sungyeol’s organising his wedding anniversary”

“Ah, really? When?”

“Well, doesn’t logic suggest that it’s the same date as last year?? It’s anniversary after all”

They watched Dongwoo get out of the car, “I’m almost there. Look at how nice this place is, woohoo~” Dongwoo laughed and turned his cameara around to show the rest a snowy alley decorated with little lights fixed between the street lap posts until he screamed because he lost his balance on the slippery sidewalk. They lost the sight of him for a while and then his smiling face appeared back on the screen.

“Are you all right?”

“Yeah, haha, I’m fine, but it’s so cold”

“Come up quickly then! I’ll warm you up!”

“Eewww, guys I’m disconnecting!” Daeyol was muffling his laugh out loud so as not to wake up the one at his side

“No, wait, wait! Before you guys go on to continue your love lives, there’s a reason why I called you! Have you all bought Christmas presents? It’s in less than two weeks time!”

“Oh! Already?” Sungkyu didn’t show his surprise and looked at Woohyun trying to make sure that Sungyeol isn’t pulling his leg, “The time flies so fast! It’s all because of you!” he lifted his fist at his lover and couldn’t help but laugh

“Really! Were you going to forget about a present for me?” he pouted and then, turned to the camera with a grin on his face

“Thanks, Yeol, you saved this year’s Christmas”

“Thank god, because I don’t want to be the main character of this year’s edition of home alone”

“Aww don’t worry, we’re not leaving you!”

“Let’s come together on that day~~”

Dongwoo started singing on hallelujah tune and Sungyeol finished the verse

“And if you want to, you can stay”

Everybody started screaming hallelujah, hallelujah and it was so loud that they woke Myungsoo up and Daeyeol moved closer to him so that they both could be seen in the camera and some of the boys stopped singing while the others were still singing along while Sungjong started:

“Hi sleepyhead”

“Myungsoo’s like a cat, he’d only sleep and eat” Sungyeol grinned

Myungsoo smiled sheepishly, “And there’s one more thing I like doing, but it’s inappropriate content for you, kids, bye~~~” the camera view got obstructed for a moment before it says that Daeyeol disconnected the face time.

“What cat? Myungsoo is more like a rabbit!” Dongwoo laughed and everybody followed him, everybody, except for Sungyeol, who knew that from Daeyol’s side, it was only a game. Because it was, right? Right?

“Sungyeol, what happened? You look as if you saw a ghost”

“Me? No… I just remembered there’s something I need to do, so see you, guys! Have fun!”

He disconnected and covered his eyes with his forearm.

MyungSoo’s milky skin refused to leave his mind, and so did the bitterness he felt. That poor guy has no idea that he’s being cheated on. Is DaeYeol even going to tell him after it all is over? After the bet is over, and DaeYeol breaks up with MyungSoo, does that mean that Myung will leave the group?

He closed his eyes tight at the thought and the unexpected heavy feeling in his stomach associated with it. Does his brother even have any sort of conscience? Or maybe it’s all his fault for coming up with the idea of the bet? Why had they made fun of Myungsoo before they even see him for the first time? Why calling him bad luck Brian? Why? Why did it have to be him? Why not somebody else? Why was MyungSoo such a nice person both on the outside and on the inside? He doesn’t deserve what’s happening to him right now. He would be better off…

_…with him, with Sungyeol._

The man immediately shook his head and got up. Why would he even think that? He should distract himself because he’s just thinking too much. Overthinking brings him to very strange conclusions.

He grabbed the ball and a scarf and went downstairs.

He didn’t mind the little snow on the ground and the minus temperature – he knows he’s going to feel hot after a few minutes. The moment the ball bounces off the ground back to his hand he forgets about the world around him. He even loses the track of time.

“SungYeol?”

He gets distracted and the ball misses the ring by inches. “Huh?” he turns around to see… “MyungSoo?” he rubs his eyes with his numb fingers to make sure he’s not hallucinating. He got reminded about their earlier facetime and felt uncomfortable. “Wh-what are you doing here? Weren’t you with DaeYeol?”

“It was three hours ago?” MyungSoo looked at the other with a hint of disbelief in his eyes, “But apparently something urgent came up…”

“Aha, right!” Sungyeol snorted and went to fetch the ball.

“What’s the matter?” MyungSoo followed him, “Did anything happen?”

“No, why?”

MyungSoo smiled and crossed his arms while rising his brow, “I wasn’t born yesterday you know”

“It’s nothing, really.” He bounced the ball a few times without looking at the other

“I’ve been trying to reach you for some time… Have you been here all this time?”

“I left my phone upstairs”

“And? Come on,” Myungsoo grinned and punched Sungyeol in the arm, “Tell me, what’s wrong?”

“MyungSoo…” he started but the other was faster,

“Is it because of the facetime? I knew that you’d feel lonely, that’s why I decided to visit you despite this awful weather” he smiled and SungYeol couldn’t help but smile back,

“Thanks! At least you thought about me… The rest of them are selfish fuckers..”

“Phew! Good to know I’m not a selfish fucker” MyungSoo grinned and, out of the blue he intercepted the ball and ran towards the basket before he scored and turned around with his arms spread wide, “Wooohoo! Kim MyungSoo played Lee SungYeol and scored a three pointer!”  
“Tsk! You call that a proper shoot?!” he ran towards the other and the game began.

Soon, MyungSoo left his jacket at the side, too. He missed the feeling of being…alive again. He wasn’t able to play against Sungyeol as if they were equals; after years of not keeping his hand in playing he found himself out of practice. But SungYeol went easy on him… well, maybe he didn’t. It’s not Sungyeol’s thing to get easy on people.

Myungsoo didn’t mind, he enjoyed blocking, little pushing and pulling, chasing and being chased with it all accompanied with grins and screams and bickering. It must have really been a long time since he last played basketball so fervently because he almost forgot that playing basketball was this fun. Maybe that’s because he grew older and perceived the game differently; maybe it’s because he hasn’t played for long. Or maybe playing with a professional made everything so much fun?  
  


He was on his way to the basket dribbling the ball skilfully when he felt it; a piercing pain in his knee that made him fall. He’d swear he could almost hear the sound of two bones grinding against one another and the feeling gave him chills. Sungyeol, who was unaware of the reason of his friend falling laughed loud and grabbed the ball before placing it in the basket. “What happened? Did you trip?” He was breathing heavily as the match between them was really fast-paced. “Myungsoo?” His expression turned from mocking to a troubled one before he trotted to the other who was sitting on the ground and holding his knee, “hey” he squatted in front of the other watching him with a troubled face, “are you okay?”

  
Myungsoo answered through clenched teeth that he’ll manage but Sungyeol knew he still needed his support to get up.  
“And that’s it when it comes to playing today... and for some time as well…”  
“Do you need me to drive you to the hospital or something?” Sungyeol cautiously threw MyungSoo’s arm around his own shoulder while becoming a holding post for the other.  
Myungsoo snorted, “I’m not dying...” but he supported himself on the man next to him.  
Sungyeol couldn’t stand the other’s scrunched face as they started slowly walking off the court, “…come on, get on my back, I’ll help you get upstairs. I have some cold packs in the fridge…”

  
Without acting all cool, Myungsoo obediently got on the other’s back and let the other carry him upstairs.

  
“It looks really serious”  
“I’ve dealt with it before, it’s going to take a few days before it goes back to normal”  
“I’m sorry, I totally forgot about your knee, I shouldn’t have encouraged you... but it was so much fun” Sungyeol opened the door to the apartment  
“I know, right?” MungSoo smiled after he got off Sungyeol’s back, “I’m looking forward to our next session”  
“What are you talking about? I’m not doing this to you ever again”  
“Ehe, right”  
“What did you say?”  
“Nothing! D-do you have these ice packs?”  
“I do, but first..” he looked at his own wet hair in the mirror and then watched Myungsoo wipe his forehead with his forearm, “Let’s have a shower”

  
Myungsoo started choking on air and his face went red, “W-what? We...?” he was awkwardly eyeing his friend when Sungyeol tilted his head wondering why he was witnessing such reaction when it suddnely hit him and so he hit himself on the forehead, “Geez! Not like together at the same time! But then... how could you even think of that?” Sungyeol grinned, “you seriously are perverted, aren’t you?”

  
Myungsoo shrugged his shoulders, “will you give me something to change into?”  
“Sure! I’ll look for something while you can go first. The towels are in the drawer!” He added from another room.

  
Myungsoo hobbled to the bathroom and turned on the water before he peeled his clothes off. The warm water was a pleasant change to the cold air on the court.

Basketball and shower made him forget about the real reason why he came here. Gradually, it all started coming back but then he opened the body wash and its smell made him think about one thing only – Sungyeol, because it smelled exactly like him. The smell brought back the cosy feeling that caught him whenever he was here. He remembered the first day when DaeYeol told him that Sungyeol is the most hospitable person he knew and MyungSoo thought that he was lucky to meet so many nice people because of his boyfriend.  
He shook his head and finished showering.

  
  
Some time later he found Sungyeol rummaging through the fridge so he sneaked into the living room, and, assuming that the clothes on the sofa were for him, he put them on.

“How do I look?”

Sungyeol showed him a thumb up, “What a fine taste in clothes you have!” he grinned making MyungSoo chuckle

“Yeah, I can feel like Lee SungYeol now, I even smell like you”

“Well, except for the fact that I’m not as good-looking as you are”

“What are you trying to gain by this?” MyungSoo grinned since he knew that boys buttered one another up whenever they had a business with them

“Nothing” Sungyeol pushed MyugSoo so that the latter fell on the sofa, “grab the ice pack from the freezer, I’m going to take a shower now” he took off his sweatshirt together with the T-shirt underneath and he turned around, “and you better tell me the real reason you came here”

MyungSoo took the patch and came back onto the sofa; he sighed. How come Sungyeol knew? He looked at the door trying to figure out. Maybe, in the meantime, Sungyeol called DaeYeol and the other told him about everything?

He sighed and looked at the clothes he was wearing – it’s the first time somebody’s lent him so many clothes at once and the second time SungYeol’s done it (the first time was his sweatshirt after MyungSoo lent his T-shirt to Hoya before the dance competition).

He smelled the T-shirt and felt his heart growing a little; Why doesn’t DaeYeol like sharing his clothes? And, to think about it, MyungSoo isn’t so fond of Daeyeol’s perfume either – maybe he should get DaeYeol some nice cologne for Christmas? That’s not a bad idea! He smelled the clothes some more.

“What are you doing?” SungYeol chuckled and threw a crumpled sock at MyungSoo, “the clothes are clean, I just took it from the wardrobe, don’t fret!”

“Ah… It just smells nice” MyungSoo smiled and scrunched before he threw the sock back at SungYeol but the latter dodged and stuck out his tongue,

“MyungSoo!” the tall one picked the sock up, “MyungSoo, MyungSoo, MyungSoo! What are we going to eat tonight, hm? Shall we order something?” he disappeard for a moment to reappear with some restaurant leaflets and he threw them onto MyungSoo’s lap before he went to the kitchen to make something to drink.

“Let’s just order chicken”

“Oh, sounds like a nice idea!”

“I’ll just order some via the app”

“Okay” Sungyeol came back with two cups of green tea, he sat down and watched the other finish ordering. “So, MyungSoo…”

“Hm?”

SungYeol raised his brows, “Are you going to tell me why you’re here?”

“How did you know? Did he call you?”

“Call me? Who?”

“DaeYeol”

“Why would he? I mean, no, he didn’t”

“We argued”

“I thought something was strange! After all, it turns out you are a selfish fucker too and there’s no way you would leave the bed while he’s next to you just to see me”

“I’m… sorry”

“Whatever, I’m here for you, so talk”

MyungSoo warmed his hands against the cup and smelled the tea before he started: “WooHyun sent me a link to a new episode of the ponies from Bronx… I immediately had to watch it, like, you understand… but he told me not to since he doesn’t tolerate idiocy in his bed... I got kind of offended because come on, nobody’s going to tell me what I can watch or not, right? And so I told him not to lie to me because so far he’s tolerated himself in his bed”

  
Sungyeol cracked up, “Did you really say that?”

  
Myungsoo chose to ignore the question and continued, “..he looked at me and blinked theatrically asking >>what did you say?<<?” - he mocked Daeyeol making Sungyeol laugh out loud at how well he mimicked his brother.

  
“And so I told him >>what you heard, chill out<< and he told me not to tell him what to do and so I asked him who he thought he was to tell me what to do and not allowing me to do the same for him and he-“

  
“Okay, MyungSoo, I understand… basically it was a dumb argument of two idiots”

“Why does he have to take everything so seriously?”

“He just can’t afford to lose”

“But aren’t you like that too? And yet we somehow end up cool whenever there’s a glitch…”

“I don’t remember us two arguing tho? Anyways, it looks as if your first argument is already behind you now so what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know... maybe I’ll call him later”

“Don’t call him, don’t apologise first”

“Why not?”

  
Sungyeol couldn’t tell him that DaeYeol probably doesn’t give a frick about their argument and he’s happily spending time with that other person now, but he just couldn’t, “I don’t know, just don’t”

  
MyungSoo looked away and the room went silent. Sungyeol couldn’t stand the way the things were and after a while he added: “Don’t think about it now… do you feel like playing games? Do you want me to hug you?” he chuckled seeing pouting MyungSoo nodding his head, “Seriously” he tsked but sat next to the other and threw his arm around him before he pulled him closer, “okay… is it enough already?”

“Nope” Myungsoo leaned his head against Sungyeol’s arm, “Do you think he’s going to break up with me?”

“Nope~” he mocked MyungSoo and made the other chuckle because of that, “Seriously, don’t worry. Is it enough now?”

“Shut up, let me heal”

“Oh, okay, but… just in case, in the future, remember that I let you do it for free,” he grinned at the feeble punch MyungSoo sold him. He ruffled his hair with his other hand before puling him a little bit closer.


	17. Christmas time

“WOW! Where did you get such a camera from?” Woohyun was reaching his arms towards the device hanging on SungJong’s neck before he hissed because of his hands being slapped by the youngest.

“Get your greasy hands off my baby!”

“Sungjong, your parents must really be wealthy people” Sungkyu craned his neck to have a careful closer look

“It’s a present for the next three Christmas eves and three birthdays and three children’s day in a row”

Woohyun snorted eying the youngest like a diva, “I guess you really wanted it then”

Sngkyu scratched his head, “Yeah, but what do you need it for?”

Sungjong lifted the camera up, “Isn’t it obvious? I’m setting up Sungyeol’s fansite”

Woogyu almost immediately died of laughter but Sungjong was watching their seizure with a calm face:

“Laugh to your heart content guys but one day he’s going to make it big and I’ll be the first one who truly believed in him”

“More like I’ll be the first who shows him how much I’m in love with him” Woohyun was holding his stomach due to excessive laughter.

“Whatever” Sungjong turned around and started walking away trying to hold his tears in; one day Sungyeol is going to notice him. Even if he’s repeting the stupid phrase that he’s married to basketball, Sungjong believes that one day the basketball player will open his eyes.

Woohyun’s loud “ouch” made Sungjong flicker and next thing he heard was Sungkyu calling his name and asking him to wait for them.

***

“Hello!”

“Myungsoo?” Sungyeol walked from behind the corner crumpling an empty wrapping of table napkins.

“Hi” Myungsoo greeted Sungyeol again with a smile while taking off his coat. For a moment Sungyeol wasn’t able to say anything as he was dealing with the stuffy feeling in his chest and at the same time trying to remember since when Myungsoo looked this handsome.

“What? Is there something on my face?” Myungsoo smiled, taken aback a little

“Of course not!” he wanted to add that the other is as handsome as always but it couldn’t go through his throat, “Where’s your… Whare’s Dae?”  
“Oh? He told me he had to prepare some sort of a surprise”

“Really?” Sungyeol souded unamused. What kind of a surprise could his brother prepare for the Christmas dinner, he wouldn’t opt for dressing up as Santa, would he?

“Yeah, he wanted me to come in first. But, you know, it makes me so curious! You don’t think he’s going to... you know...”

…propose. Propose. Of course it’s the only thing that’s on Myungsoo’s head now. Just what kind of other surprise could DaeYeol come up with?

Sungyeol watched suspiciously as the other gets a little abashed, “No, I don’t” he grinned, “You should know it better, didn’t he give you any hints?”

“Should he?” MYungsoo grinned and scratched his chin, “I haven’t noticed! Are you sure you don’t know anything?” his eyes were sparkling.

“Positive”

“Oh come on, I’m sure he told you!~” the younger one was already hanging down Sungyeol’s arms pleading, which made Sungyeol grin:

“I really don’t know, you know that I don’t talk to him”

“And you should! You could be selling me all the little things he shares with you! One day, if he plans on proposing you could give me a heads up, you know”

Sungyeol started coughing frantically. How on Earth would Myungsoo come up with something like this? Is he blind? Or is Daeyeol’s acting so good?

“Myungsoo…”

“What?”

Sungyeol watch the dimples appearing on the other’s face and oh, how come he hasn’t noticed them before? “Live up the present, don’t make plans for the future”

“Okay!” Myungsoo saluted like an exemplary boy scout, “Anyways, what’s for dinner tonight?” he walked further into the room, “wow! Have you been decorating the Christmas tree?”

“Yeah, since you’re here, you can help-”

“Sure! Because of the cat I can’t really keep a decorated tree at my place, I haven’t done that in ages!”

Sungyeol smiled watching how excited the other got. He walked up to the tree and collected the empty boxes after Myungsoo picked up the last glass balls to hang on the tree. Then Sungyeol turned on the chrismas lights and couldn’t comprehend how excited it made Myungsoo look.

“Let’s take a selfie!” Myungsoo grabbed the other by the arm and pulled him closer. They opted for the raindeer filter and Myungsoo took a few photos before the boys entered the flat.

“Ho! Ho! HO!”

Sungyeol and Myungsoo grinned at each other when they heard Dongwoo’s laughter and so they walked up to greet everybody.

“Merry Christmas!”

“Heey! Wow your noses are so red!”

“Have you looked outside the windows? It’s snowing like crazy!”

“We’re staying in for the night!”

“That’s going to be the best present today!”

“Is Sungjong here already?”

“He sent us a text on kakao, haven’t you read it?”

“Oh? I didn’t have time, my mum was complaining that I spend too little time with her, you know, so I couldn’t do it to her. Reading texts.” SungKyu lauged, “But look how much food she packed!”

MyungSoo helped to bring the bags to the kitchen and started unpacking them: “Wow! Did your mother know that we’re meeting? She’s made a lot!”

“It’s our tradition, Myung-” Sungyeol helped him unpack the things, he was about to explain the matter further when the others started their usual cheerful prattering – everybody at the same time.

“Sungyeol, your mom’s food’s here too. She asked me to tell you that if you don’t visit her after the season is over she’s going to disinherit you!”

Myungsoo laughed so hard.

“Wine, anyone?” Hoya was already opening the bottle

“Don’t ask, just pour it! And Sungyeol you could play some music, you know”

“I only have Dongwoo’s raping”

“Hey DongWoo, maybe you should record a Christmas carol, huh?”

“Rapping one”

They giggled and Sungkyu connected his phone to the speaker to play some music to make the mood even more festive.

“And what about your parents, Myungsoo? How do you feel that you’re spending the Christmas with us this year?” Woohyun flung his shoulder around the handsome man and smiled warmly

“She’s happy that I have a new family but she told me I have to bring DaeYeol for Christmas next year instead”

“You’re going to leave us next year? Oh no, no, no! Did you hear that, Sungkyu?” Woohyun was in his drama mode

“Then we’re going to spend next Christmas at Myungsoo’s parents’ place!”

“You better tell your mom to start preparing because we’re gonna eat a whole lot of food!” Hoya was distributing the wine glasses

“Will we have such a handsome waiter there, too?” Dongwoo laughed and blinked his eye at Hoya waiting on them

“I’ve got a younger borther” Myungsoo continued

“Really? Maybe we should introduce him to Sungyeol!”

“Two kim brothers and two yeol brothers”

“What are you talking about guys, stop it”

“What’s the matter Sungyeol? We’re only joking, come on” Hoya grinned and shrugged his shoulders

“Anyways, let’s hope we can meet next year as well!” Sungkyu raised his glass and the rest of the men lifted their glasses in toast and drank a little before they went on unpcking things and carrying the food over to the table.

_Kkatalk!_

Kakaogroup KINGS chat

JJong: guys! It’s snowing like crazy! I might get little late! Don’t eat all the food! Pls

Hojack: too late!

Hojack: *sends a selfie eating*

Kenya: ♥

JJong: I’m gonna burn your diary

JJong: once I find it

Hojack: good luck with that!

Dongwoo laughed. And Hoya grinned. Woohyun pulled Myungsoo and Sungkyu in a hug. Sungyeol set his arms akimbo, “Finally, it feels like home”

They were about to move into the living-room when they heard the door-unlocking sound so everybody stayed in their place.

“It’s Daeyeol!”

“Or was Sungjong pulling our legs that he’s going to be late?”

And there he was, walking into the apartment with a smiling face and the remains of the snow in his hair and on his jacket. He was leading the way to a young man behind him, who was carrying a box with Christmas cake.

Sungyeol’s eyes darted at Myungsoo in fear. The rest of the boys seem genuinely curious so was he the only one who smelled something out?

With his cheeks getting rosy, a warm grin and overly-theatrical tone, Daeyeol sang: “Guys! I want you to meet someone! I’m sorry, I just couldn’t leave him alone - after all it’s Christmas! But look, he brought a Christmas cake to sweeten the situation a little. Don’t get angry!”

“Hi! My name’s Jangjun and I promise I won’t make any trouble…tonight”

Donhwoo laughed which made Jangjun smile sheepishly and slightly shake the box he’s holding to indicate that they should accept it, so that he could take off his jacket and shoes.

Sungyeol walked up to them and accepted the present “Thanks. I’m Sungyeol, by the way” he mumbled.

“Nice to meet you, Sungyeol by the way” Jangjun bowed quickly and DaeYeol snorted at his lame joke

When the boys came closer to greet the newcomer, Sungyeol sent his brother a deadly stare to which the younger replied with a shrug of arms.

“Daeyeol, if you continue to invite new people to us at such pace, we might run out of palce here”

“Sungyeol would have to get himself a bigger apartment”

“What for? You don’t spend time here anymore, anyways” Sungyol snapped. It was supposed to be a joke but it turned out he uttered his real complains.

“Do you need company? I could keep you company!” the newcomer threw his shoe on the floor and fixed his hair, smiling.

“Are you really Daeyeol’s friend or are you here to hit on Sungyeol?” Dongwoo laughed making the latter embarrassed a little

“Trust me, I would if I coud but… Let’s say that my heart is somewhere else…” Jangjun smiled – he knew that he made Daeyeol panic with his comment. And indeed, Daeyeol was already shouting unnaturally loud:

“WOW! Look at the… uhg… the Christmas tree! WOW! It’s really pretty, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, Myungsoo heped me decorate it!”

“Ah, I’m so able to notice Myungsoo’s artistic talent!” Daeyeol took a deep breath to highlight the complement

“And I heard that you appreciate his other…skills, too” Sungyeol walked past them and saw a twist flashing over Jangjun’s face. That’s everything he needed to know.

“Sungyeol! What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing, I’m just joking,” he answered with the most serious tone he could.

“Hey! Shall we wait with eating for Sungjong?” Hoya rubbed his belly and sat at the table

“Hey! Do you guys sometimes play games? Maybe it could help us pass the time waiting”

“Great idea! Sungkyu usually loses no mater what he plays!” Woohyun pulled his man closer and kissed him on the cheek

“Can you not embarrass me in front of the kids, at least once?”

“Fine, fine”

“So have you got any games on your mind?”

“Peppero!” Dongwoo laughed

“What’s the point? The majority of people in this room are couples”

“Jangjun can play peppero with me!” Sungyeol took a place next to Hoya who watched him in surprise.

Myungsoo, who also sat down at the table watched the tallest, too. He never thought about it, but somewhere deep inside he didn’t approve of the idea. Sungyeol was always single and that was sort of natural. Somehow the thought that he might get close with somebody made Myungsoo feel strangely uneasy or, should he say, somewhat envious? But that’s irrational – why would he get anxious over other people getting together with somebody? He was just probably worried that Jangjun might just want to hang out with Sungyeol because the latter’s popular. And Sungyeol is sort of a vulnerable person, isn’t he? The way he gets used to people and feels hurt when he can’t spend time with them...

“…I might even have a spare box somewhere” Myungsoo shook his head as Sungueol’s continuing the topic brought him back from pondering.

“Sungyeol, that’s enough! Are you drunk already?”

Myungsoo almost jump at Daeyeol’s sudden reaction

“And what’s with you now?” Myungsoo was watching his boyfriend amused

“Daeyeol is right, Jangun is new here, come on, he may not know our sense of humour yet”

Woohyun got up to change the song and while coming back he punched Sungyeol in the back sneakily.

Sungyeol watch Woohyun with his eyes open and read the message form the other’s look perfectly well – >stop it<.

“We could play of course game!”

The boys clapped their hands in excitement. “Whoa! I haven’t played it in a while!”

“Let’s do it!”

“If you guys mention my eyes I’m going to sabotage tonight’s dinner, I swear”

“I wish Sungjong was here, I could happily diss him”

“It’s been less than five minutes and you managed to mention Sungjong twice, should I get jealos or something?” Dongwoo laughed

“I just like bullying the ones who are younger” Hoya grinned “And weaker”

“I wouldn’t say Sungjong is weak when it comes to verbal offense, you know”

At that moment the music at the door implied that the missing one was here. A moment later a cheerfull “hey” sounded from the hall and then Sungjong appeared with wet hair and no socks on his feet. “My boots got drenched but look what I brought!” he was waving a small branch of a mistletoe with the grin on his face; he sniffled.

“Don’t you dare hang it anywhere in my place!” Sungyeol got up from his chair and everybody started laughing. He grabbed the plant and placed it on top of the refrigerator hoping that nobody’s going to bring it back tonight. “Go grab some socks from the drawer” he patted Sungjong’s butt playfully without thinking much what he had done nor without noticing Sungjong blushing.

“Yeah, run, Sungjong! We’re starving!”

As soon as they started eating the bickering and laughs also started.

“Sungjong what did you get me for a present?”

“A bar of soap, of course, Hoya” Sungjong answered as seriously as he could, “I’m still fresher than you” he flipped his hair referring to their bickering from before.

“Ah, a bar of soap you’re going to personally swallow later?” Hoya placed a piece of meat into his mouth without looking at the youngest.

“As far as I remember the dance studio is opening on the first working day of the new year” SungYeol interrupted

“Maybe the soap wasn’t the smartests move, though”

“But seriously, what did you get me?”

“Leave him alone, he lost his shoes and socks, he’s miserable enough”

“Thanks, Sungkyu”

“Yeah, thanks Sungkyu, you spoilsport!”

“What if, for a change, we could say something nice about one another? Let everybody say something nice about a aperson sitting across from you” Dongwoo was being an angel, as usual.

“There’s nobody sitting across from me!” Jangjun lifted his hand

“That’s fine, Jangjun, you don’t know us yet”

“Le’s not leave him out!” Woohyun protested, “Everybody could try to say something about him and he could say something about each one of us too”

“Just watch him coming with some super-witty things, guys!” Daeyeol’s eyes were shining like diamonds – almost everybody thought it’s the side-effect of the two glasses of wine (white, so that it doesn’t stain the teeth) he already had.

The best part about them spending time together was that they actually spend it together - even with nine people in the room everybody was always engaged in the conversation - there were no sub groups forming among them. Except for the part when somebody was in the toilet or, like Myungsoo, lost a dare and had to fetch something from the kitchen or the other room. This time, Myungsoo made a trip to the kitchen to fetch some more kimchi from the fridge. Everybody thought it wasn’t going to take much time, but well, maybe Myungsoo isn’t the most perceptive person. Sungyeol was coming back from the toilet and as soon as the boys noticed that from the living room, they whined asking him to help the poor child Myungsoo to fulfil his task.

“I’m not helpless, okay?” he defended himself loudly, and then murmured going through the things in the fridge, “It’s just that there’s too much food in here”

“Here,” Sungyeol appeared behind Myungsoo’s back out of nowhere to help him retrieve the box,

“T-thanks” MyungSoo looked up and their eyes met and it’s probably the wine because he feels blood hitting his face. Sungyeol popped a smile he believed was the most awkward one he had ever put on before the both men jerked at the sudden laugh outburst; Myungsoo almost dropped the box with kimchi due to that.

Hoya was lauging like crazy until the rest of the boys ran to see what’s happening. At first they froze at the sight but then everybody started giggling.

“What?” Sungyeol looked from MyungSoo to the rest

“What?” MyungSoo looked from Sungyeol to the rest until, finally, they followed SungJong’s finger pointing at something above their heads and…

“No” Sungyeol whispered

MyungSoo gulped.

The mistletoe was right above their heads, sitting exactly where Sungyeol had left it.

As if on a command, they started pushing each other and trying to get away from the hellish place as soon as possible while the rest chants through tears with their cracking voices, “Kiss! Kiss!”

“Stop, guys!” MyungSoo didn’t know where to hide; he finally buried his head in his arms at the nearest counter

“Get out, now! Shoo~!” Sungyeol was trying to disperse the crowd, “I’m not kissing him!”

At the words Myungsoo fell down on the floor and started ruffling his hair in despair which made the rest laugh some more.

“Guys, do it and it’s over, no big deal”

“No man, ew, kissing him would be like having an indirect kiss with my brother, eww”

  
“That’s right! Where’s Daeyeol? DaeYeol, come save me!” MyungSoo was screaming from the floor.

Everybody looked around to find no trace of the man in question, and Jangjun wasn’t there either.

Before they managed to even start looking for them, Daeyeol’s laugh outburst revealed that they were still in the living room.

“What’s so funny over there that could possibly be more fun that what we’re witnessing here?!!!” Hoya roared

“What’s going on?!!!!” Jajngun screamed before the two of them appeared in the kitchen noticing Sungyeol still standing somewhere by the fridge with desperation written all over his face, and Myungsoo who was looking at them with similar despair in his eyes, his hair all ruffled.

Jangjun bursted out laughing at the realisation and oh, he looked like he’s having the time of his life, “Oh that’s so unfortunate, I love thisssssssssssss, yeahs”

“You see, both of them are refusing to kiss”

“Oh, doesn’t that mean bad luck for the upcoming year?”

“Shut the fuck up, Daeyeol, you’re not helping! And it’s all your fault Sungjong! Every friggin year I tell you not to bring this shit to my house I knew something like this was going to happen eventually”

“It was supposed to happen between me and you, I’m forever an underdog…” Sungjong whispered under his nose

“I thought you said you were over with Sungyeol?” Sungkyu watched Sungjong shrug his arms so he shook his head in disbelief

“Okay, guys why are you making such a big deal out of it! It’s just a peck, come on let’s get it over with!”

“Yeah, unless… there’s something that really makes you feel uncomfortable about each other…?” Sungkyu squinted his eyes

“NO!” MyungSoo and Sungyeol protested at the same time before they looked at each other with eyes wide open.

“And will you be okay with it, Dae?” Myungsoo watched his boyfriend standing arm in arm with the new friend and he didn’t like the closeness.

“Sure, it’s just some stupid practice; if you’re really going to have bad luck all next year then I prefer this”

“Yeah, come on, let’s really get it over with”

“You’re going to make fun of us if we do it now”

“We will either way!”

Sungyeol sighed and his shoulder drop. He took a few confident steps towards the other but when he saw the shock in Myungsoo’s wide-open eyes and it hit him that he hasn’t kissed anyone for god knows how long and just inches from the other he lost his confidence and hesitated.

Hoya bit his fist and Woohyun was peeking through his fingers; Sungkyu was tryng to overcome his laugh outburst and Dongwoo kind of awed making Jangjun giggle.

Then Myungsoo stood on tiptoe and pecked Sungyeol before he ran to find solace in his boyfriend’s arms.

The most embarrassing thing in their lives, like, could you please erase it from their everyone’s memory?

They watched Sungyeol rush towards the bathroom and shouted, “he’s gonna clean his mouth off”

“Hey, maybe that soap from Sungjong would come in handy?”

Sungyeol closed the door behind and tried to calm his racing heart breathing deep and slowly. Is he having a heart attack? Maybe he should ask them boys to call the ambulance?

He doesn’t want to die yet and if one’s having a heart attack the sooner they get to the hospital the bigger the chances to survive are, right?

But slowly, his heartbeat’s coming back to normal. He sighed and braced himself for the upcoming ridicule before he left for living-room.

“Sungyeol where did you disappear for so long?”

“Cut the crap” he plopped onto the chair and reached for his glass before he drank its content up

“It’s already in Hoya’s diary”

“Some more wine?” Sungjong appeared out of nowhere with a bottle and before Sungyeol even managed to answer MyungSoo squeezed in between them with his glass whining: “Me, me!” making Sungyeol’s heart race again.

“How are you?” Myungsoo smiled and lowered his voice, “The sooner we start making fun out of it, the sooner they’ll stop bothering us and everything will be forgotten. Hm?”

Sungyeol watch the other taking a seat right next to him as if nothing happened and quickly swallowed his wine. “Yeah… let’s.. let’s do that”

***

“Where’s Jangjun?”

“Has he got lost on his way from the toilet?”

“But it’s a straight way from here”

“Ho! Ho! Ho!” the youngest jumped out of nowhere wearing a Santa’s hat and funny glasses with the nose and moustache attached.

To everybody’s surprise he quickly pushed a cushion under his shirt and spread his arms singing “ta-dah! It’s time for presents!”

Sungkyu snorted and turned to Hoya who’s expression was like what the F? is it a comedy or tragedy? But when Dongwoo jumped up and genuinely seemed to enjoy the show, even Sungjong clapped for the performer.

Myungsoo was busy cleaning the wine he spat on himself at the sight and he was blessing the fact that he opted for a black shirt, as usual.

Sungyeol watched Daeyeol resting his forehead on his fist as he’s trying to unsee the embarrassment while Jangjun shooes Sungjong from their favourite armchair and nestles himself in, comfortably.

“What am I even doing here?” he asked in a voice of an elderly person “With the naked eye it’s visible that you’ve been so naughty, tsk, tsk, tsk, ho-ho, what to do?”

“Hoya can dance for you, Santa!” Sungjong laughed and clapped his hands satisfied with how he set the other up, “Maybe that will help you to look at us more favourably”

Santa waved his hand “Forget about it, I’ve seen so many people dancing in my long, long life. If he really wants to get his present, he’d have to say something nice”

“Something nice!” Hoya almost shouted as he stood up faster than the lighting which made everybody laugh and Jangjun immediatetely answered “Pass!” he clapped his hands “Now, go take your presents from under the tree”

His comment made Sungkyu laugh so hard “He’s really like an old gramps”

“Who? Okay now young man, it’s your turn!” Jangjun pointed his finger at the oldest “I can see that you’ve been exceptionally naughty! Come here, sit on Santa’s lap!” he clapped his thighs

Everybody watch Sungkyu walking through the path to hell to finlly place himself on the Santa’s lap with a face expression literally screaming I’m going to kill you. Woohyun and the rest were having a ball and somebody even took some photos in secret to keep them for later.

“He’s been very naughty, Santa” Woohyun pouted, “He made me wait like ages and it hurt me so much in here…” he pointed at his heart

Jangjun and Daeyeol’s eyes met for a moment but nobody seemed to notice.

“I see! Go away! No presents for you!”

“Don’t forget who’s older here!” Sungkyu promised to hold his grudge

“Shut up, larrikin”

Everybody bursted out laughing at the unexpected comment but Jangjun only grinned and before Sungkyu managed to react, he immediately took off his glasses and jumped to the other, grabbing his hands and begging for forgiveness because of his being so bold with the oldest.

Sungkyu only ruffled his hair bowed showing respect to the “Santa” who run to the Christmas tree to fetch the presents for the older.

“Santa, why do you look like an elf now?”

“He’s been degraded”

JangJun laughed at himself and with a candid smile he distributed all the presents to their rightful owners and was left with nothing on his hands.

“Daeyeol you could’ve told us that you’d be bringing a friend with you, we could get him a present, too!”

Jangjun smiled and covered his wrist with his other hand sheepishly hiding the silver bracelet with an ECG heartbeat symbol, which he got from his lover before they arrived, “don’t feel bad, being here with you all is enough”

“We’ll compensate it for you next year” Hoya was busy unwrapping his own presents and he said it without looking away from the boxes

“Why are you so sure he’s going to make it with us until the next year?”

“The real question is whether you guys are going to bear with him” DaeYeol giggled.

“…but, how did you manage to remember our names so well, Jangjun? And you even knew the couples!”

“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about, too!”

The newcomer shrugged his arms and answered quietly with a big grin on his face:

“Daeyeol left me a whole agenda to study at home”

In the spotlight of boys’ attention Jangjun seemed like a fish in the water.


	18. bonding

“It’s been a while… Are you happy because of today’s evening?”

“I am!” Myungsoo clung onto Daeyeol’s arm nodding his head eagerly. "Would you like to come in and turn the evening into an even more _pleasant_ one?”

  
  


Right in that moment the mobile phone in Daeyeol’s pocket made the both of them jerk. Myungsoo couldn’t notice who the caller was but something in his veins was telling him that he knows who it was. Also, the apologetic look on his boyfriend’s face when he looked at him was all telling.

“It’s important. I’m sorry Mung, we’ll have to put it off for some other time-” he pressed a light kiss on his boyfriend’s lips and left him with eyes and mouth wide open and a furrowed forehead. “Go upstairs, and get some rest, okay?” DaeYeol turned around and picked up the phone as he was already walking away. 

“Just what kind of an important call can you get at this hour?” Myungsoo asked himself watching his boyfriend's back in the distance. 

*

“Dae?”

“Huh?”

“What huh? You didn’t listen to me again, did you?”

“I…I did, it’s just that I’m on kakaotalk right now… Jangjun’s ask-… asking me to-“

“You know what, I don’t care what he’s asking you to do. Call me when you have time for me.”

And he hanged up breathing heavily and tossing his phone to the other end of the bed. 

*

“M-Myungsoo? What are you doing here?” 

“What kind of a stupid question is that?” Myungsoo smiled and lifted the bottle up, “I came round to visit my boyfriend”

“Who’s that?” Jangjun walked out of the bathroom while drying his hair with a towel, “Oh! Myungsoo! Long time no see!” Myungsoo would swear there was a hint of apologetic expression on the man’s face and he kind of felt strangely reassured? Jangjun’s staying over Daeyeol’s place and at least he’s feeling apologetic for the whole inconvenience. Maybe he’s a decent guy. This Jangun. But his smile is a killer one. Just how long is he going to exploit Daeyeol’s hospitality? Yeol brothers are just too much with this open flat thingy. 

“Yeah, hi, I just wanted to check on Daeyeol, it seems that he already forgot about me”

“What are you talking about, Myungsoo don’t be silly” Daeyeol scratched his nape, “I mean…”

Jangjun showed his big, wonderful smile, “you know that DY’s always busy. That’s so like him”

“I know, that’s why I thought that in order to save his time on driving to my place and back, he wouldn’t mind if I stayed for the night” he turned to his man in a warm voice “I missed your warmth”

Daeyeol faked a smile and stumbled “Ah, yeah, I…”

“Guys, I don’t have anywhere to go for the night…” Jangjun smiled even more apologetically

“Don’t worry, we can wait until you fall asleep, right, Honey?” Myungsoo smiled and headed to the living room to make himself at home. “Honey, bring the corkscrew, please!”

DaeYeol and Jangjun, who were left in the hall, looked at each other with eyes as raound as saucepans before Jangjun hissed:

“I don’t want to witness any of this, DY. I won’t handle it, I swear. Please, you can’t make out with him!” he pointed his thumb at the living-room where MyungSoo disappeared a moment ago. “Just why can’t you finish this off?” Jangjun kicked the air and pouted.

Daeyeol answered MyungSoo in a loud voice: “Okay! Okay! Just give me a moment, I need to find it!”, then he turned to Jangjun in whispers as he pulls him by the hand into the kitchen, “Here. Go and buy a fine wine… maybe the second bottle will make him drowsy...” he grabbed Jangjun’s chin and sent him a reassuring smile, “you’re the only one for me, baby. I swear I’ll do anything for you. If there’s no other option today, I’ll break up with him, okay? Screw the bet”

“What bet?” Myungsoo appeared out of nowhere in the kitchen and Daeyeol started shaking Jangjun’s head by the chin immediately to make it look as if he was just playing with him.

“Jangjunnie lost the bet that we had and he’s to treat me to something nice. I thought he could do it today”

“Aw, my man’s a winner, I knew it! But did you look for the corkscrew?” Myungsoo slipped through the boys and looked around the kitchen.

“Yeah, I just couldn’t find it anywhere. Where could it go?” Daeyeol’s eyes longed after the half-naked man who was already leaving the kitchen.

“It’s here, you silly?” Myungsoo picked the corkscrew from the counter and smiled; he turned around just in time when Daeyeol turned to face him, “You didn’t look well enough”

“I guess so, I’m a bit tired you know, maybe that’s why”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you relax” Myungsoo moved closer and Daeyeol tensed up. “Why? What happened?”

Daeyeol rolled his eyes and nodded at the wall. “We’re not alone” he shrugged his arms watching Myungsoo roll his eyes:

“Just how much longer are you going to couch surf him here?”

“Myungsoo, he’s my friend…”

“And what about me?”

“What? You can’t possibly be jealous?”

But Myungsoo’s face spoke louder than any words and suddenly the younger Lee brother found himself being down in the dumps. He knew he shouldn’t treat anyone this way. He knows it’s not right to the point it doesn’t let him sleep at night. He tells himself everyday that it’s not that he does it because he feels like it, no – it’s all because of the bet and the fact that if he endures it some more he’s going to finally cut Sungyeol down to size. 

It seems to Daeyeol that his older brother, being devoured by the sports life and constantly striving for success, has never really taken care of him, let alone pay any attention to him. All his life everything he’s heard was empty phrases such as _you won’t stand a chance with me_ , j _ust shut up with your irritating questions_ or Sungyeol not answering his calls and not bothering to even call back later. Sungyeol’s tunnel vision for his only goal is to blame. He’s lucky enough he has friends around and the reality is that, even up to this day, Daeyeol has no idea how or why they’ve been sticking to him so far.

And then, one day when Sungyeol achieved everything he was working for, he suddenly reminded himself about his brother and, suddenly, felt like babysitting and bringing up somebody who’s already an adult. And he thinks he can do all this just because he’s older? Over Daeyeol’s dead body! He’s not anyone’s puppet. And he’s going to show it once and for all by winning this stupid bet. And if somebody is to blame after it all ends - it’s all Sungyeol’s fault. 

***

  
  


Sungyeol fell flat on his bed without taking off his winter parka. He didn’t even turn on the light. Recently, and since the Christmas eve, his place seemed so empty and he wasn’t the happiest to witness the empty living-room as he passes by. 

It’s not due to cold weather outside and the snow that’s been falling for a few days. 

Sungkyu and Woohyun discovered a new universe which they’ve been happily exploring together exclusively. Sungkyu – his best friend for life - and Woohyun – the one Sungyeol knows for the longest period of time because it’s since they started going to school together – two almost most important people for him got together and are enjoying the beginning of spring in the middle of winter now. 

Hoya and Dongwoo live up a similar story – since Hoya’s extraordinary confession at the dancing competition, they became almost inseparable; and since their careers started blooming too, they have more work to do now and eventually less free time so it’s a given that they prefer to spend every second of free time together rather than hanging out with the boys. Sad but true. 

Sungyeol knows that all he needs is time... gradually, things will come back to normal. 

But why can’t he find a place for himself? Why isn’t there anything he’d like to do right now? 

There’s something bothering him, he can’t find peace. What is it? Why can’t he find out and finally reach peace?

He grunts, turns to the side and closes his eyes. 

Maybe it’s the empty flat that makes him depressed. Maybe he should go out? When was the last time he went somewhere to have fun? 

A night at the Namsan flashes in front of his eyes. Next thing he remembers is Myungsoo’s stare. Actually, he couldn’t get that look from his head. Even now, he felt a shiver running through his spine and it’s definitely not because he’s cold. 

  
  


He jumped at the sudden sound of _pick me pick me pick me up_! 

  
  


It was Myungsoo. 

“Myung?”

The other laughed “Is that my new nickname?”

Sungyeol grinned at the sound of Myungsoo’s happy voice. He immediately imagined the dimples forming on his cheeks and it made him smile. “What’s up?”

“Hm, the ceiling, I guess?”

“Jeez, you’re and idiot” Sungyeol grinned again hearing Myungsoo chuckling 

“If you didn’t want me to give you that answer you shouldn’t have asked me that question in the first place”

“So now, you’re trying to tell me that you being an idiot is my fault?”

“I’m not being an idiot, I’m answering stupid questions on the mental level of the asker”

“You know, at first, I was kind of happy that you called me, but now I’m starting to think that you’re annoying me”

“Then hang up already if you feel that way”

“I won’t do something just because you tell me to! You hang up!”

“No, you hang up!”

“Not gonna do it, Myung”

“Fine!”

There was a silence and Sungyeol could hear Myungsoo giggling 

“What are you laughing about you moron?”

“I’m not laughing at all” Myungsoo was trying to regain his composure after Sungyeol calling him Myung again. It was so funny.

“You are! I can hear you puffing into the speaker” MyungSoo laughed out loud this time “you’re puffing so loud I can almost feel it! Your puffing is this powerful. Myungsoo the fourth power _puff_ girl” 

“Ah, you crossed the line this time”

“What will you do about it?”

“You better ask me what I won’t do” 

Sungyeol thought about the massages Myungsoo gave him from time to time, and the special coffee that only Myungsoo knew how to brew, and that Myungsoo seemed to call him whenever he needed to interact with someone – it’s as if he knew when Sungyeol was feeling down. 

There was a moment of silence again and this time Myungsoo spoke first: “Aha, the silence speaks it all - Myungsoo 1:0 Sungyeol, pow pow pow!”

This time Sungyeol laughed “I imagined you in that powerpuff girl outfit, yours would be all black with a white belt and white shoes”

“Ah, sexy”

“Yeah”

“Did you just say _yeah_?”

“It’s a different yeah, though, you didn’t possibly think that I’d find you wearing a dress hot, like, I know that you’re an idiot, but come on”

“So what kind of yeah was it?”

“Ah, give me a break, I don’t remember now”

“Pff”

There was a moment of silence again. Sungyeol rolled on the bed and started, “You there?”

“Yeah”

“Because I couldn’t hear you puffing” he grinned

“You missed it, didn’t you?”

“Do you wanna meet up? I feel like drinking your coffee”

“Watch out, because if you get addicted I might use it against you one day”

“I’ll do anything, I don’t mind, really”

“Good to know that! We can meet up, actually there’s something I wanted to talk to you about”

“Oh? Really? What is it?”

“Yeah, really! What did you think? That I called you just to hear your voice or something?”

Sungyeol laughed, “Fine, fine, since I’m free right now, I can be at your place in about half an hour”

“I’ll be waiting then”

“You can hang up now”

“Okay, bye!”

And he hung up just like that leaving Sungyeol surprised at the little disappointment it made him feel. 

  
  
  
*  
  


Sungyeol was waiting downstairs with his hands hidden deep into his pockets. The snow stopped falling a few moments ago but a fluffy white duvet was still thickly covering the ground. 

“Whoa~” 

Sungyeol turned around and saw his friend with sparkling eyes and mouth wide open as he admires the snow. It was dark already but the street lamps were giving off a nice orangish glow. 

Sungyeol smirked at the sight. “Why so happy? It’s cold”

Myungsoo tilted his head and showed his dimples, “Hey! Have you washed your face today?”

“Me?” Sungyeol pointed at himself, surprised, “is there something on my face?”

“Snow~” Myungsoo grabbed a handful of the white fluffy powder and shoved it into the the other’s face laughing like crazy. 

Snorting and shaking his head, Sungyeol opened his eyes as wide as he could and shouted after the other who was already at a safe proximity, laughing like crazy - “You wanna die?”

“You still haven’t bought me the Korean hot dog, mister!”

“You! You think I’ll do it today after what you’ve just done?”

“I think you will”

Sungyeol opened his mouth to answer but Myungsoo was faster to finish, “…if you want to drink some warm coffee”

“Okay! Okay! I’ll buy it today! I promise! Come here!”

Myungsoo started laughing like crazy, and had to kneel down to in order not to fall after he slipped a little “No, thanks, I’ll keep my distance, at least until your face gets dry”

“I’m not going to try to get revenge on you”

“Now, why can’t I believe you?”

“I’m being serious”

“Promise!”

“I swear! It’s such an awful feeling I wouldn’t like you to experience it, seriously”

  
  


Myungsoo watched him suspiciously but decided to walk closer. He was still holding his ground though which made Sungyeol grin, “I mean it. Really”

“Oh, okay”

“But, how are you going to make the coffee for me?”

“Some time ago, I noticed that there’s a Korean hot dog truck nearby, it’s almost around the corner from my workplace. We could stop by the café and I’ll make it for you and then we could go there and you can finally treat me”

“Deal”

“Good! Whoa! It’s cold!” 

“So let’s get going!!”

It wasn’t a long distance to the café, but on their way Sungyeol managed to shove some snow into Myungsoo’s face eventually, as he wouldn’t be himself if he hadn’t done that. 

“You told me you wouldn’t do it!” Myungsoo was spitting snow from his mouth and rubbing his eyes, but a grin didn’t leave his face. 

“Well, maybe I forgot to add at that moment. But now, it’s different”

“You! Come here!” Myungsoo grabbed a handful of snow and ran after the other. 

It didn’t take them long to reach the café and they blessed the warmth welcoming them inside. Myungsoo greeted his coworkers and proceeded to making the coffee while one of the café attendants, seeing that Myungsoo is speaking to Sungyeol so freely, mustered up their courage and asked to take a selfie with Sungyeol which made Myungsoo giggle. 

The basketball star was in a good mood and already ready to pose for the picture when the cafe attendant screamed: “W-wait for the coffee!” before he pushed the cup into Sungyeol’s hands. Then he took it back and turned the cup so that the logo is in the front and handed it back to Sungyeol. 

“Oh...are you perhaps trying to advertise this place? Because I don’t do such things for free” he grinned looking at the cup and smiling mischievously.

“It’s not for free! You’ll get the coffee!” the co-worker added quickly and smiled shyly

“Ah, I can pay for it, one cup is no fun! However…”

The co-worker opened his eyes wide and Myungsoo could only laugh at Sungyeol’s face at that moment while he’s also eagerly waiting what idea Sungyeol came up with.

“If you want to post it,” he turned to the co-worker, “...there must be a special hashtag under the picture”

“Okay, that’s too easy! Which one?”

“#prestige”

Hearing that Myungsoo lost it and squatted down behind the counter laughing like crazy; Sungyeol couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of Myungsoo disappearing behind the counter. 

The café attendant smiled politely obviously not being able to understand what the big deal it was and eventually, they posed for the picture. It came out well at the first try and Sungyeol reached his hand to give the other a high-five. 

“Good job!”

“Thank you” the cafe attendant bowed happily at the praise. 

“Remember about the hashtag! If you don’t, I know where to find you” he grinned while pointing his fingers at his eyes and then at the cafe attendant playfully and making the other giggle

“Okay, okay, I understand~”

“Good!”

Myungsoo came out from behind the counter and they were ready to go. 

  
  


“Why didn’t you tell me I’m so famous around your coworkers?” Sungyeol took a sip from the cup

“We meet almost everyday and I guess I just forget about your background you know, I don’t look at you from the perspective of what you do for a living, you’re just Sungyeol to me, not Sungyeol the star”

“Ah I see. Back then, at school, you know, although I didn’t know you, I was so jealous that you already got the contract at your age... I wonder how would I have felt about you back then if I had befriended you”

“Do you think we could be friends back then?”

“Sure, why not? Everything’s possible”

“I don’t know man, your personality sucks!” Myungsoo giggled

“Yours sucks, too! Actually you know what? We’d be only basketball-playing friends”

“Oh! That’s actually possible! I remember I had hard time training because I basically had to do it myself as nobody could stand me a chance, and it was so frustrating!”

“I know right! I had the same! Whoa, we really could train together and who knows, today maybe you’d be in Sungkyu or Woohyun’s place since you’d know me for the longest period of time”

“nah, but you know what, after considering it a little, I don’t think so”

“Why?”

“You’d have the minority complex after training with me!”

Sungyeol laughed so hard, “Nice one, Myungsoo, really”

“Are you trying to deny it? We defeated you in semi-finals, and that’s a fact”

“Come on, stop going back to that single episode”

Myungsoo was about to open his mouth when the ahjumma from the food stall interrupted them: 

“Dear customers, are you going to buy anything, because I want to go home, it’s cold today”

They haven’t even noticed when they reached the stall nor could they tell how long they were actually standing there. After all, it was only a several meter stroll from the café.

“I’m sorry! We’re going to order now! Hmm, but I can’t decide… Should I pick the most expensive one?” he was scratching his chin playfully trying to annoy Sungyeol. “This one or…”

“Come on, take both and let’s go, it’s really cold!” Sungyeol was trying to warm his hands with the cup of coffee he’s holding but it wasn’t enough.

Myungsoo picked two pieces and Sungyeol paid for them before he motioned for them to hurry up.. 

“Aren’t you eating?” Myungsoo asked with his mouth stuffed chock-full and he took another bite in.

“Nah, I really shouldn’t… although, you could give me a bite, you know, it wouldn't do any harm if I grab a bite, would it?”

Myungsoo stretched his hand with the snack towards Sungyeol and the other walked closer and opened his mouth wide to swallow almost half of what Myungsoo’s got left in one go. 

“Hey!”

“Mmm! It’s so good!”

And they stood there chewing the snack with their mouths full and cheeks bloated as they nod their heads and make some praising sounds. MyungSoo handed Sungyeol the rest of one hot-dog and finished the other one. 

They started walking while chewing the last bites on their way.

“Wow, that was really good, finally you treated me after..” Myungsoo started counting on his fingers “..how many months has it been? Three? Four?”

“What matters is that in the end you got it” Sungyeol smiled, “and you basically devoured it like Myungzilla” he grinned, “you still have some crumbs on your scarf...” he stopped to brush it off the other.

Myungsoo only watched it with an apologetic smile before he cleared his throat and started: “Sungyeol?”

“Hm?”

There was a moment of silence when Sungyeol watched the other fighting with his own thoughts before he actually voiced it out with an apologetic smile on his face:

“Do you think I’m disgusting?” Myungsoo watched Sungyeol tilt his head and furrow his eyebrows as if that would help him understand the question he wasn’t sure he heard correctly.

“Disgusting?”

“Yeah”

“Tsk! Hey! What kind of question is that?” Sungyeol snorted and noticing Myungsoo’s serious face he wanted to make sure what the other is exactly asking about, “Are you asking me if you’re my type or what?”

Myungsoo grinned, “No, you idiot, why would I want to be your type, pff! In general, do you think I’m off-putting? Come on, tell me, I’m being serious now”

“Of course you aren’t! Everybody tells you that you're god-looking, don’t they? I really don’t understand”

“Maybe there is something repellent in my behaviour then? Or...do I smell?” he started cleaning his scarf off the leftover crumbles. 

Sungyeol snorted, “No, you don’t smell. And when it comes to your behaviour, of course it’s beyond normal” he grinned but then quickly corrected himself seeing that Myungsoo’s not in the mood for joking, “ah, fine, seriously, I really can’t recall anything strange, why?”

MyungSoo sighed. “I don’t know… I mean… it’s because of this JangJun guy, he’s bothering me. Because of him, Daeyeol doesn’t have time for me at all, because he either works or helps him with god-knows-why all the time. And don’t you think the guy looks good? Maybe I should start going to the gym..?”

Sungyeol stood there not really knowing what to say; he had no idea what Daeyeol was doing and that Myungsoo’s thinking that Daeyeol’s interest in him was diminishing because of him being disgusting. 

“Stop freaking out!” Sungyeol tried to turn it into a joke

“Why? Maybe there’s something about me that makes him disgusted… I need to know so that I can change it”

“Hey! What are you talking about? He’s not disgusted! Nobody is! You are a good person, Myungsoo” Sungyeol grabbed Myungsoo’s arms and shook the other a little to make him come to his senses, “Do you want me to talk to him? Hm? Or do you want me to beat this Jangun to a pulp?”

Myungsoo snorted and Sungyeol grinned, “I could do that, you know”

“It’s not necessary, I have to deal with it myself… first, I’ll sign up for a gym! I could go to the one you’re going! And then, maybe I should cook something for him? What do you think?”

“Well, yeah, why not…” Sungyeol had no idea what to say to the other now. He remembers how Daeyeol lied to everyone that he’s in America and in fact he was spending the night, or maybe even more time, with somebody and, could that somebody be this Jangjun that was supposedly his friend from high school? Sungyeol tried to think if he can recall any Daeyeol’s friends’ names from that time, but he was so busy playing basketball and reaching his goal that he’s not even sure he can remember at least one name. Who the frick is that Jangjun? What is Daeyeol thinking?! How can he do this to Myungsoo!

How can Sungyeol do this to Myungsoo. 

  
  


“Sungyeol?”

The man in questionl shook his head and came back to reality. It started snowing again. “Oh, I’m sorry, you know, do… do you wanna hang out at my place? We could talk if you feel like it” he looked up at the sky and felt the small flakes falling gently on his face. He quickly blinked his eyes several times as his eyes were stinging. Probably from the snow flakes getting into his eyes. 

.

Myungsoo sighed, “I really feel like drinking alcohol now, you know”

“Hey, come on! Don’t drink because of my brother! You’re more than what’s happening to you! Just tell me and I’ll make him obedient like a German soldier”

“And how are you going to do that?” Myungsoo snorted, “as much as I know you two, he doesn’t care about what you say”

“He hasn’t received a decent beating yet, you know”

“Violence is not the way, isn’t it? Besides, you can’t make people change their feelings…” his face got gloomy suddenly and so Sungyeol took it upon himself to decide about the upcoming activities for the evening. He grabbed Myungsoo’s hand and pulls him behind - “I know what you need, let’s go!” 

  
  


In this cold weather it felt so nice to have his fingers intertwined with the other’s. 

.

.

.

After a lively walk in the freezing cold, they got back home, pushing each other playfully and stumbling in the hall on their way to the living room. Myungsoo took off his sweatshirt and threw it somewhere onto the armchair before he plopped on the sofa. “Wah, why does it feel so comfortable in here?”

“Because it was mind-blowingly expensive. The sofa”

“I’m not talking about that!” MyungSoo cracked up, “being here feels comfortable”

“Ah, that… you’re welcome anytime, remember about it”

“Thanks”

“Sure. Just pay the bail in case you ruin something”

“Asshole”

Their bickering wouldn’t find and end that evening. They both couldn’t help but feel utterly gratified with it. 

They also played some video games and shared some jams on youtube. Had a fight about whether to dip each piece of meat in sauce or soak it all in at one go before eating. They also made ridiculous bets and played some games before they realised how late it was and had a discussion whether it pays off for Myungsoo to go back to his flat which resulted in him staying over for the night. Then they wasted some more time on arguing who should be sleeping in Sungyeol’s bed and ended up realising that since they both were already lying there (the argument went on for so long that they got tired of standing) both were too tired to move onto the sofa (and putting all the blankets there). 

  
  


When they finally killed the lights and Myungsoo turned to the side to face Sungyeol, the latter felt his face burning.. “Isn’t it too hot?”

“Maybe a little” Myungsoo mumbled, “Maybe you’ve caught a cold…”

“Is that so?” 

  
  


After a moment of silence Sungyeol asked:

“What are you going to do with Daeyeol? Are you going to talk to him about it? Maybe you should just ask him straight... maybe he wants to marry Jangjun”

Myungsoo snorted and slapped Sungyeol on the arm tiredly,, “Come on, what kind of a sci-fi scenario is that”

“I’m sorry that he’s like that”

“Don’t be, it’s not your fault...”

“He’s my brother…” 

Sungyeol was looking at the ceiling. He usually sleeps on his back. It was pitch black yet he felt Myungsoo’s stare on him. He wished the other could just reach out and touch him like anywhere would do, it was such a hot burning urge, but at the same time, somehow, he didn’t want it to happen. He also wished he himself could reach his hand and touch the other right now but at the same time he knew that it’s inappropriate. 

  
  


MyungSoo was so close yet so far away. 

  
  


That bittersweet thought was drilling a hole in his stomach and he thought he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. He finally mustered up the courage to turn to the side to face the other and, to his surprise, relief and regret at the same time, Myungsoo was already asleep. 

Sungyeol couldn’t take his eyes off the other and he didn’t know how much time passed since he fell asleep too.


	19. it's all about talking

“Stop making fun of me! I had no idea whom I could turn to with this-”

“Okay, okay, big bro who’s turning to me as if I was older, okay! But there’s nothing else I can tell you, you know… I guess it kind of helps before the job interview… not sure how it works in real life though…hold on… aha, aha, I’ll let him know that too, thanks honeybum! Yeah, so Myungsoo, she says it would be best to talk to someone who knows the person well” 

“Maybe I should just talk to myself then”

“Yeah, just give up, grea- hey! Hey!”

“Hello?” Myungsoo scrunched his nose - has his brother just let him down? But no, there was a female’s voice on the other end next second:

“MyungSoo?”

“Oh, hi honeybum” Myungsoo giggled proud at himself for using the just-overheard nickname.

“Screw you, MyungSoo! Have I just heard that after all this conversation you had with your brother - the whole thing aka stealing his time with me without the kiddos around - you feel like giving up? Over my dead body MyungSoo, you hear that?! You’ve got these new friends, I bet there’s at least one person whom you can ask to do it with you! Hasn’t he got a sister? A brother? ”

“A… a brother actually…”

“Great! Go and talk to him. Act it all out, get yourself prepared and take your life in your own hands instead of passively waiting for god-knows what!”

“I-”

“You got me?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Good. Now, if you please excuse us, we’re in the middle of something important”

“Okay okay fine”

“MyungSoo!”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t you dare back out from it or I swear-”

The phone call ended suddenly making MyungSoo snort. “What a possessive woman, seriously! tsk… eh… so… Sungyeol…. should I ask Sungyeol about it…?” he got remembered about the half threat of what the woman would do to him if he backs up now and he dialled Sungyeol’s number in an instant.

  
  


“Yeah?” 

“Uh...um.. is it the right moment?”

“Well, it depends if you’re halfway to your deathbed or-”

“There’s a conversation me and DaeYeol need to have and… but... somebody told me that in order not to let the conversation be taken by unnecessary emotions I should practise it with somebody else beforehand… And since you’re his brother I thought that maybe you… could… play his part?”

“MyungSoo…”

“I...um… if you don’t feel like it, just tell me! I’ll understand! After all it’s my problem...mine and DaeYeol’s and maybe you just don’t want to be constantly drawn into the drama because of me…” Myungsoo bit his lips in anticipation. 

“No, Myungsoo, I will play his part if you want me to. But I have to go now, the training’s about to start. Just come round later, okay?”

“omg, thanks!”

  
  


*** 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


“...so…” Sungyeol cleared his throat, “...my teammate asked me for advice…”

“Yeah? You?” Sungkyu chuckled with an inaudible laughter watching Sungyeol shrug his shoulders and scratch his nape. He shook his head still not being able to overcome the smirk on his face as he continued: “Okay, what kind of advice did he need exactly?”

“Well... he likes his brother’s girlfriend, you know...”

“Ah, I see but-”

“…and he wonders if it is okay to dare to try and… uhm… win the girl’s heart over, you know, and whether he should do it or maybe he should get over the girl...”

Sungkyu sighs, “Does he…your teammate, think the girl is happy with her present partner?”

“Uhm.. He’s not sure because his brother used to be a player...”

Sungkyu raised his brow and crossed his arms: “Well, people change, you know. Love is said to change people”

“Yes, but... Have you ever wanted somebody only for yourself but couldn’t have them because they belonged to somebody else? And the feeling hurts so bad that you can’t really focus on other things like scoring during a match and you’re losing balls in a game because-.”

“Well, hold up!” Sungkyu raised his hands up, “first of all, I don’t play professionally so it’s hard to say but! Which friend are you talking about exactly? Because as far as I remember, recently nobody’s had problems on the court except for... you” Sunggyu grinned seeing Sungyeol in a pre-state of panic.

“But it’s not me! Really! Recently, I’ve just been having a bad day or two because of…of…” Sungyeol was looking around, desperately trying to find something that could help him come up with an excuse. 

Sungkyu crossed his arms again and leaned back in his seat like a boss. “Sungyeol, cut the crap, man. I know that you’re talking about Myungsoo”

“Myungsoo?! Eyy, how would that even pop into your head?! No way!” this time it’s Sungyeol who crossed his arms on his chest feeling that his whole face is burning.

“You may be a good basketball player but you suck at acting”

Sungkyu watched Sungyeol’s shoulders drop down and how the man in front of him hides his head in his shoulders almost lying down on the table. 

“Ugh”

Sungkyu smiled and leaned over the table to pat his friend on the shoulder, “I’d like to tell you not to worry but...hmm... I’m not sure if I can say that in your situation”

Sungyeol lifted his head from under his arms, “He doesn’t see the world apart from Daeyeol even though that bastard treats him _like_ _that_ ”

“Oh, Sungyeol, come on! Even after...even if they break up, you still have little chances, if you ask me...”

“I told you all this because I thought you’d cheer me up somehow instead of killing me, you know”

“I mean it, think about it, maybe you have developed the feelings for him out of sympathy? After all, Myungsoo’s somewhat miserable in his life... He injured his knee, lost his promised career, then he found a man who’s with him probably only because of the bet…” Sungkyu started listing the situations on his fingers before he tsked, “Damn, it sucks to be him”

“I’m willing to change his life for better!”

“Heh...Don’t you think you feel this way because you think that you owe him something due to the bet”

Sungyeol sat up and tried to digest what Sunggyu has just said. 

He tilted his head thinking deeply... “Well, maybe you are right… but then…” he looked down and touched his chest

“Sungyeol get yourself together! Don’t blame yourself, it’s not that you can go to him now and tell him to break up with Daeyeol. You can’t tell him about the bet either because it’d break him down. Now, there’s only one thing you can do, namely, playing well until the end of the season! What’s the matter really, aren’t you married to basketball anymore?”

“You see? All my life I’ve had this answer prepared for anybody who wanted to date with me but recently, there’s somebody who seems to occupy all my thoughts and …” he hits himself a few time on the chest with a clenched fist, “…ugh, it feels so uncomfortable!”

Sungkyu snorted at the sight. It was one of the rare situations when Sungyeol looked hopeless and it reminded him about the Sungyeol he had known many years ago. “It reminds me of the situation with your homeroom teacher”

Sungyeol smiled shyly and waved his hand trying to shoo the embarrassing memories, “I was thirteen back then, thirteen! It’s different now?” he feels that he’s blushing so he checks both of his cheeks with the back of his hand.

“Oh! Actually... wait a moment! Don’t they say that once you fall in love, your inner child awakes?! That would explain why you suddenly reminded me of you from back then...”

“That would also explain why Woohyun’s never grown up. He probably fell for you the moment he saw you” Sungyeol poked his tongue out.

“What I’m trying to say..” Sungkyu feels that he’s blushing himself, “…hmmm… what did I want to say? Man! Why did you have to bring Woohyun up?!” he laughed, “...and the fact that he’s never grown up-”

“It’s cute, isn’t it?”

Sungyeol watched SungKyu’s eyes sparking and face beaming in an instant

“So cute, yeah” 

There was a moment of silence when Sungyeol watched a dreamy expression on his friend’s face. He couldn’t help but be happy for him and his love life however, dying over Woohyun’s cuteness wasn’t the reason why they had met in the first place. 

“But coming back to the topic, what would you do if you were me?”

Sungkyu sighed and thought for a moment before he answered, still hesitant,: “I’m not sure, Sungyeol… I really don’t know, you know? Gee, I’m sorry… I guess I’m not helping you…”

“You think that I’m imagining things, don’t you? You think what I feel comes out of pity or guilt and I’m telling you it’s not”

“Well… you are the one who knows your heart the best”

“Are you trying to tell me that I should follow my heart..?” Sungyeol’s eyes went wide at the sudden realisation; Sungkyu started waving his hands and he even got up from the seat trying to explain and prevent any problems being caused by Sungyeol’s overinterpretation but before he managed to speak his mind Sungyeol was already leaving the place: 

“Thanks, SungKyu, see you later!”

“Oh boy...” SungKyu plopped back into the chair while watching the other disappear behind the door.

  
  
  
  


Some time later Sungyeol found himself in the waiting room in front of the door to his brother’s exam room. As soon as the patient walked out of it leaving the door ajar, he sneaked into the office and saw his brother washing hands with his back turned to the door.

“Dae!”

“S-Sungyeol? What are you doing here? Has something happened?” he wiped his hands and turned around to his brother before he leaned against the counter. 

Sungyeol took a deep breath in and said:

“Look, it’s friggin hard, the thing what I’m going to say now… so don’t make me say it twice, got it?” he watched his younger brother squint his eyes in anticipation

“Go ahead, I’m listening”

“We should call off the bet”

Daeyeol snorted and left his mouth open “What?!”

“Told you not to make me say it twice” Sungyeol rolled his eyes

“I’ve never even dreamt of a situation when you would like to call off a bet. Are you sick somewhere? You aren’t dying, are you?” Daeyeol walked up to have a closer look at his brother’s face.

“I’m fine. I mean, I’m not fine.... Look, we can’t do this to Myungsoo. He deserves something better than all this!”

Daeyeol smiled and shook his head slowly not being able to believe what he’s witnessing right now. It’s like once-in-a-lifetime situation when his brother’s actually asking him (not demanding!) to do something! To cancel the bet, on top of that! 

“I know that it’s not right… I’m carrying it all on my back everyday, Sungyeol. But it’s come so far, there’s little time left, there’s no point in doing it now…. Besides-”

“Stop calculating things! Do you even know what he’s going through?”

“Well, what is he going through? Enlighten me since recently, we haven’t talked much”

“Exactly! You just don’t care! It’s all about you and Jangjun all the time!”

“It’s not that I can tell my heart who to like, you know!”

“I get it! It’s fine! Be with him if you want to, but don’t make Myungsoo suffer because of that!”

“He doesn’t know about us. Besides, why would  _ you  _ suddenly care?”

“Suddenly?! Oh please! The fact that I didn’t talk about it with you before doesn’t mean I haven’t been following what’s been happening everyday! DaeYeol, come on! Myungsoo’s our friend!”

“He managed to stick with me for the past six months, he’ll be able to endure it for a little more, too” DaeYeol clenched his teeth and started going through things in a drawer.

Sungyeol almost threw himself on the desk: “You don’t understand! _ I _ won’t be able to endure it!” 

Both of them went speechless for a moment under the words that were heavy on Sungyeol’s chest for some time now. The words went echoing in the room making the taller feel uncomfortable and embarrassed. For the first time h’s expressed it openly that he envied his brother. He was jealous that Myungsoo had eyes only on Daeyeol when he shouldn’t have in the first place because of how the latter is treating him. 

DaeYeol was looking at his brother with his eyes wide open; his mind went blank for a moment. Wait, was it some kind of a lame joke of his brother’s?

Sungyeol sighed: “Please?”

  
  


“I have no idea what you’re plotting, Sungyeol. And, no. I’m sorry but at least once in a lifetime I am going to win against you”

“And that’s all you have to say? That’s it?”

“What else do you want me to say?!”

“I don’t know! You fucking cheated on him back then!! What am I even saying?! You are cheating on him all the time!”

“Do you think it’s easy for me, either?! Doing everything behind his back so that he doesn’t find out because it’s going to ruin him?! You have no idea how many sleepless nights-”

“Aha! Don’t talk about sleepless nights! As if you didn’t have other things to do then? Oh wait, not things, people! A certain someone!”

“Fuck off, Sungyeol! You think I’m living a fucking fairy tale right now?! Come and swap with me if you think it’s so easy!”

“If it makes you have a hard time then just stop it! Finish this all!”

“I will. But only as soon as the season ends”

“Seriously! Why did I even come here?! What was I thinking!” he turned his back on his brother and was already on his way.

“Ah, and Jangjun is playing with us on Friday!”

“Who cares!” Sungyeol shouted and slammed the door. 

  
  


DaeYeol fell down into the chair and buried his face in his hands. He thought about his life, his career, about all the nights he missed Jangjun like air. How, despite trying to act like a confident person, he still feels insecure inside. Is it all worth it? To some extent - it is. Everybody only sees Sungyeol’s success. Sungyeol this, Sungyeol that. It’s been like that since he remembers. And no matter what he does, it’s never enough to “beat” his brother. He isn’t weak, he isn’t worse! And he’s going to prove it, this time for real. That’s why winning the bet is everything for him. If he gives up, if he loses, it’s really going to make him feel as if he really was hopeless. 

He wants to win so badly that he becomes blinded by it and so he can’t fully enjoy what he’s having at the moment, which adds fuel to the fire and makes him want to win even more. This loop needs to be broken or his health might be put at risk. 

  
  
  


***

  
  
  


They were sitting in the living-room, which was already treated by Myungsoo like his own – he’s been here so many times already, he just makes himself at home every time he visits Sungyeol’s place. He’s found a comfortable position on the sofa and laughs at something Sungyeol just said.

“Daeyeol wouldn’t say something like that!” Myungsoo hits Sungyeol’s arm playfully, “How come you don’t know your own brother!?”

“I know him well enough, don’t worry! It’s just that he’s never introduced anyone to us nor have I seen him around his... lovers, so… anyways…. Okay! Okay! Maybe this time I’ve just said something I’d say myself, indeed! Okay, okay, I’ll try to imagine what he’d say from now on!”

“Good! Okay… so… Tell me, honestly, why can’t you spend more time with me? Don't you want to spend time with me?”

“I’m… I’m sorry Myungsoo, I have so much work to do, you know that I can’t leave my patients!”

MyungSoo smiles and holds his thumb up as he mouths inaudibly, I like it! “Do you even miss me? You don’t answer my messages...”

“Of course I miss you!” Sungyeol pretends to be his brother, “I miss your scent, your warmth and you cute dimples when you smile!”

MyungSoo smiles and tilts his head thinking about the words. “Tsk. No, Daeyeol has never said such a thing. He’d only say something like yes yes of course I miss you, I’ll text you later, I promise”

“Hey! Are you Daeyeol or am I playing his part? Huh? Stop complaining! I said I missed you and it means I did!”

“Then why don’t you show it?!” MyungSoo played along

“Because I’m so busy!” Sungyeol went overboard with mocking his brother’s face expression and grinning at his own antics but then he get a hold of himself as Myungsoo complains:

“Your being busy all the time hurts, you know?” 

Sungyeol stands up and is pointing his indexes at his chest, “Here… hit me”

“What?” Myungsoo giggles, “It’s not that I want to use violence on him, come on”

“Just do it! Let everything out!” he grabs Myungsoo by the wrist and pulls him up from the sofa and closer to him, “Then forget that I’m pretending to be DaeYeol and hit me instead!”

“I… I don’t want to…” Myungsoo looks away from his wrist in Sungyeol’s grip to focus on the other’s face now. The doe eyes which are so similar to DaeYeol’s seem somewhat captivating at this proximity. But he knows these eyes too well - he’s not sure if he doesn’t see Sungyeol’s eyes more often than his lover’s eyes. Maybe it’s the other way round, maybe it’s Daeyeol’s eyes that are similar to Sungyeol’s… 

MyungSoo’s eyes suddenly dart to the full lips, which he swears he’s seeing for the first time now. How come he hasn’t noticed the perfect curves and the deep philtrum and, in fact, everyday he took Sungyeol’s looks for granted, but he’s really handsome from up close.

“So…” Sungyeol swallowed before he asked in a small voice, “...what would you like Daeyeol to do in such a situation?” 

MyungSoo looked Sungyeol in the eyes

“to k-kiss…” he lifted his head up making himself look more confident, “Kiss me”

Myungsoo feels the grip around his wrist loosen but he refuses to take his hand away and rests it on Sungyeol’s shoulder. As he watches Sungeol’s brow twitch, his insides cramp oddly. And when he feels Sungyeol’s warm hand on his cheek he closes his eyes to his own displeasure. But why? Why does he feel this way? He just can’t deal with the situation. 

He can hear the other snort quietly and it’s when Sungyeol pulls him closer for a hug. And he can feel his own heart beating frantically – or maybe it’s Sungyeol’s? And then his chin is being pushed up and he’s not going to close his eyes this time and the way Sungyeol’s smiling – he swears it could melt all the snow outside – so he smiles back and closes his eyes when Sungyeol leans closer to kiss him on the forehead. 

  
  


And it’s the most disappointing feeling ever. And Sungyeol hits himself on the head mentally and shuts his eyes tightly as if it could help him overcome the bitterness. He calls himself a coward and he hates himself. 

He feels Myungsoo hugging him tighter and whispering, “Thank you”

“What for?” 

“I feel so much better now”

Now, that Myungsoo thinks about it – whenever he’s in need, or he’s alone, or simply missing Daeyeol, it’s Sungyeol who always finds time for him. Even with his super tight schedule, many was the time he showed how much he actually cares about Myungsoo. He even agreed to take part in this silly drama acting now.

And it can’t be said about Daeyeol who only looks for excuses whenever Myungsoo comes up with an idea for them to meet up. He’s brought back from his pondering by Sungyeol’s tender voice:

“I’m happy to hear that… You can always rely on me, you know?”

“I don’t want to exploit your hospitality though…” Myungsoo took a step back and fixed his hair, “...shouldn’t you… don’t you have anything better to do now?”

Sungyeol thought about kissing the other as a better thing to do right now and he couldn’t help but smirk which made Myungsoo curious, “What? What did you think about?”

“Ay, nothing, nothing,” Sungyeol waved his hand sat on the sofa but Myungsoo’s expression was making it even worse so he’s trying so hard not to grin now but he fails completely watching the other plop right next to him.

“Oh come on, tell me!” 

“I think I’m going to skip my workout this evening”

“What kind of workout?” Myungsoo giggled and hit Sungyeol on the arm, “the one where you’re supposed to train your bicep?” 

“No, you pervert!” he pushes Myungsoo’s face away, “my usual gym routine. Since you’re here with me, let’s just spend the time together, shall we? Maybe we should watch a film?”

“A film you were supposed to train your bicep to?”

“Say some more and I’m going to use you as a punching bag to train my biceps with”

“If you knocked out my teeth, I’d be able to spend more time with Daeyeol in his office! Do it!” Myungsoo leans closer exposing his chin

“I’m about to knock that punk out of your head right now!” he jumped towards the other and they started wrestling. 


	20. realizing status 99% ??

Jangjun walked into the living room with bags full of snacks and a usual bright smile on his face, “Hola~ amigos~! Wow! Guys! You are all early! Wow, how did you all do that?! Must have had a great motivation!” he acted pleasantly surprised when some of the boys in the room sent him indifferent looks.

“No, Jangjun. It’s you who are late” the oldest mumbled without taking his eyes off his phone tapping his fingers furiously on the screen.

The latecomer rolled his eyes and sighed, “Fine, but at least I brought some snacks to compensate for being mbhndz” he dropped the bags on the table and plopped onto the sofa.

“Mbhndz? What kind of a craziness is it this time?”

“Isn’t it obvious that he’d do anything in order not to admit that he’s late, as in L A T E” Jong spelled that last word in English.

“Spare the English spelling man, besides it’s M B H N Z” Jangjun fought back

“you mean m b h n D z?” 

“I hate you”

“Likewise”

“Spread the looove-” Dongwoo jumped in between SUngjong and Jangjun throwing his arms around their necks and giggling, “-understand?”

“That’s how we do it” Sungjong and Jangjun answered in unision. 

“Can we just start playing? Because of Jangjun’s mbhndz or some other weird letter combinations we’ve already lost a lot of precious time...”

“Okay, I’ll help Sungyeol with the drinks” Sungkyu got up and somebody immediately stole his seat.

\- - - 

“Hey, Yeollie? What’s taking you so late?”

“Hm?” Sungyeol shook his head before he came back from his pondering, “Ah….Daeyeol needs to break up with Myungsoo...”

Sungkyu sighed, “Did you talk to him about it?”

“That idiot refuses to cancel the bet! Maybe I should tell Myungsoo about it...”

“About the bet?” Sungkyu sighed again, “This is going to ruin him till the end...”

“He’s already ruined...”

“Who’s ruined?” MyungSoo trotted up to find himself next to the counter where his friends were whispering, “...you think you’re going to win the game easily? Better watch out not to be ruined yourselves!” he grabbed a drink and rushed to the living room leaving the two sighing together. 

***

It was like an awakening. When Myungsoo saw it all.

Whenever Jangjun had the ball, he somehow always found a way to get to the basket while running past Daeyeol. And Daeyeol’s arms seemed so welcoming every time the other was within the reach. 

How their lips involuntarily curve in a smile or a warm grin whenever their eyes meet. 

It really looked as if the world around them didn’t matter. 

He tried hard to remember if Daeyeol had looked at him like that at least once. 

But he couldn’t. Even on that day, in the café, it wasn’t the same look he sends to that man, Jangjun. Didn’t he say that Jangjun was his friend from the past? If they had known each other earlier then why did Daeyeol approach Myungsoo back then in the cafe? 

“Myungsoo! Where are you going?”

“It’s my knee, don’t worry! I need to rest for a while” he smiled and pointed at his leg.

“Hey, I feel like taking a break, too!”

“Yeah, let’s rest for a while”

“Wait for me, too! ….but what’s wrong with Myungsoo lately?” Dongwoo asked himself while passing by the Lee brothers. 

“I’ll make him moan a little tonight and he’ll be like new,” Daeyeol answered to himself with a smirk on his face.

“Watch your fucking words!” Sungyeol pushed his brother before walking towards the bench with his fists clenched. Just one more word and he swears he’s going to beat his brother up to a pulp. 

“Chill out a little” DaeYeol threw the ball at his brother’s back playfully (or maybe not).

And that ball bouncing off his back was the last straw. 

Sungyeol turned around on his heel and walked up to his brother who was already in another world grinning because he was watching Jangjun doing things with basketball. 

SungYeol grabbed his brother by the arm before he pulled him closer so that the other was facing him and then he pushed the younger on his chest which ended in Daeyeol taking a few steps back, surprised. 

“Hey! What’s wrong with you?!” he asked but didn’t waste his time on waiting for the answer and pushed his brother back before the atmosphere between them didn’t foresee anything good.

“Hey, look! Are they going to put up a fight?” SungJong jerked from his seat pointing at the brothers on the other end of the court.

“Nah, why would they-HEY!” Hoya jolted from his seat and darted towards the Lee brothers who were about to turn the court into a boxing ring. The rest of the boys followed to separate them. 

The unexpected punch on his jaw and the taste of blood in his mouth turned on the adrenaline shot into Daeyeol’s veins. He swung his fist and could swear he broke his fingers against Sungyeol’s face.

In revenge, the older went with full force pushing his brother on the ground, his clenched fist flinging downwards hits the air inches from Daeyeol’s face as he’s being dragged up and away by the boys. 

“Let me go!” he struggled

“Let him go!” Daeyeol was already up, his leg desperately trying to reach his opponent but Hoya and WooHyun managed to hold him back just in time to prevent the contact.

“Guys what’s wrong with you?!”

“Sungyeol doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions!” 

“Shut up you indifferent piece of shit!”

“Dae! What’s gotten into you? It’s your older brother!” Sungkyu walked in between the brothers. 

“But… he started! Why are you taking his side again?!”

“Oh my god you’re bleeding!” Myungsoo walked up to his boyfriend and examined his face 

“It’s fine, don’t worry,” Daeyeol spat blood on the court matter-of-factly and allowed to be walked away by Myungsoo, Sungjong and Hoya.

Sungyeol watched them go until he felt something warm drip down onto his eye. He rubbed his brow with the back of his hand to learn it was blood. He wiped it into his jersey and sat down on the ground before he covered his head with his arms. 

“It sucks, doesn’t it?”

Sungyeol lifted his head and looked at Jangjun who was pointing his chin at Myungsoo and Daeyeol before they disappear behind the corner a moment later. 

“What are you talking about, it’s going to be over soon and you’ll be able to be with that prick until your heart content”

“That doesn’t change the fact that it hurts now”

Sungyeol didn’t answer. He could only think about the fact that if Myungsoo gets to know one day, he’s going to hate them till no end. Daeyeol probably doesn’t give a damn about it as opposed to Sungyeol. And Myungsoo just has to know. Even if they break up, Myungsoo’s going to stay with the rest as a friend and they cannot keep this lie from him. He deserves to be treated fairly, after all this shit. 

“I can drive you to emergency room”

“Huh?”

“To have this…” Jangjun was pointing his finger cautiously “…you know, stitched or something...”

Sungyeol leaned over to lie down on his back. Everything is so messed up right now. If only he had been able to meet Myungsoo before Daeyeol had... If only he had been a coffee addict before, he might have gone to that café and met him earlier to avoid all this. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so devoted to basketball after all. 

For the third time in a row, Jangjun brought him back from his deep thoughts: 

“Sungyeol, come, on! Don’t you think it’s enough? I have nothing to do with the whole situation! Why can’t you treat me like you treat everyone? One day, I’m going to be your brother-in-law, after all”

Sungyeol snorted. Does he even care? Does it even matter? “You?” he eyed the sweaty man to his right

“Of course! Wanna bet over it?” Jangjun grinned and Sungyeol couldn’t help but snort at the comment. He let out a shout to cleanse his mind and grabbed the man’s stretched hand to help him get up. 

The rest of boys who were witnessing all this in silence, finally walked closer.

“Are you two good now?”

“Whoa, he planted a nice one on you!” 

“You saw Daeyeol? He ended up with some slight bleeding from his lip, and he punched Sungyeol –“ Woohyun was imitating the punch, “Whoa, that was awes-“ he looked at Sungkyu’s cold stare and quickly corrected himself “-sooo unacceptable!”

“Drop it already , guys. I deserved it”

“But it’s really bleeding awfully”

“Ah, don’t overreact, it’s fine,” Sungyeol waved it off

“What happened? Why did you suddenly jump at him?”

“He was insulting Myungsoo”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Nevermind… let’s just get out of here” Sungyeol felt somebody’s grip on his arm, he turned his head and saw Jangjun’s serious face; seeing that the boys went ahead leaving the two behind his face turned serious as he started: 

“Look… he’s really going through a hard time, you know? I mean you probably don’t, but there’s hardly anything else he can talk about right now... it’s killing him”

“I told him to stop it, he’s so stubborn… seriously, am I like that too? Because that’s so friggin annoying…” he wiped the blood off his face again. 

“I’m not the right person to be asked such questions, I don’t know you that well… besides, I don’t want to get on my future brother-in-law’s bad side” he grinned

“Will you ever shut up about it?” Sungyeol couldn’t help but grin back watching Jangjun shaking his head with a funny face, guess this man cannot stay serious for long.

“Maybe after I and DY get married?” he tried to look cute but failed

“You really want to get married to that little serious, stubborn, workaholic prick?”

“I’ll make him normal again” Jangjun winked playfully.

Sungyeol cracked up and pulled the other closer in a half-hug, “Thanks… for being by his side… to be honest it hurts me that he’s been always reluctant to talk to me about his problems and stuff...”

“After all this ends… just give him some time… I’m sure you won’t recognize him”

“Hey, if you succeed, you can call me hyung”

“No, if I succeed you can call me hyung!”

SungYeol grabbed Jangjun by the nape and shook him a little making the other cringe at the giggles, “Okay, okay let’s compromise! I will call you hyung from now on, o-okay?” they grinned at each other. 

*

“I heard you don’t really have to get stitches if you watch out”

“No, no, no I can’t afford it tear open during the match, they are going to kill me! And make me pay a fine”

“At least don’t force yourself today,” Sunggyu crossed his arms watching Sungyeol holding a piece of cloth at his eyebrow while they’re in the waiting room. Sungyeol nods his head to make everybody calm down - “Okay, dad, don’t worry I’m a big boy now”

“But why does it bleed so hard?” DongWoo bite his fist while watching Sungyeol’s injury with disgust 

“Because it’s an injury made by his little brother, it leaves a scar not only in the place of an injury but also in his heart, right, Yeollie?” Woohyun sat next to him and patted his back.

“Oh, I’d better call him and check if he’s all right!” JangJun walked a few steps away and dialled DaeYeol. 

*

DaeYeol reached out for his phone vibrating on the table. 

“Who’s that?” MyungSoo wasn’t the happiest that somebody’s interrupting them now. He wanted to make sure that his suppositions were right. 

“Jangjun”

“Don’t answer” Myungsoo rested his hand on Daeyeol’s arm

“But… What if something happened?”

“Please?” 

Daeyeol sighed, “okay”

He watched MyungSoo move closer and sit on his lap before he started playing with the brim of his T-shirt with an obvious smile on his face, “Thanks… we’re finally alone”

“M-MyungSoo-“

“Hm?” the other was walking his fingers up DaeYeol’s stomach lifting the fabric of his tee in the process

“I’m… My mouth feels soared after Sungyeol punched me”

“Who said I need your mouth?”

DaeYeol gulped and closed his eyes when the phone started vibrating again. 

“Let it pass, he’ll get bored finally”

But the phone wouldn’t stop until MyungSoo got annoyed, got up grabbed the phone and threw it at his boyfriend, “Geez, what’s wrong with him?”

Daeyeol picked the phone and with every moment his eyes were getting bigger and he was straightening his back as he listens. Seeing that, Myungsoo got anxious too and so he sat next to his man. DaeYeol ended up the conversation and turned to MyungSoo:

“He told us to come quickly as it turned out SungYeol might have had a concussion and they’re going to perform some tests on him and JangJun asked us to come to the hospital quickly”

“Oh my god, really? H-how is that possible?”

“I kind of punched him hard tho-” Daeyeol was examining his own fist trying to grasp how his brother could end up with possible concussion after just one punch.

“Then we have no other option than to go there now”

On their way MyungSoo told DaeYeol many times that he should apologize to Sungyeol since he’s Daeyeol’s older brother and he also gave a dozen of other reasons why he should do that - reasons which DaeYeol didn't feel like listening to. He’s not going to apologize first and he stated it out clearly and definitely and so he asked MyungSoo not to ask him for tht again because he’d simply not do it. Period.

When they arrived at the hospital and rushed into one of the corridors they saw them boys and it was also the moment when Sungyeol was released from the treatment room with a dressing on his eyebrow. 

“Sungyeol weren’t you supposed to stay in here for some examinations?” MyungSoo was shocked at the fact that the tall was already putting on his jacket

“Yeah! Jangjun called and-“ DaeYeol suddenly realised it all was a lie and he threw daggers at his lover 

“I’m fine, who told you that I was going to stay?”

He eyed his brother with a cold stare; the latter wasn’t even interested if he’s okay as he was busy glueing his eyes to Jangjun. 

“Let’s go!” Sungyeol was about to leave when SungKyu stopped him,

“Seriously? Look, Daeyeol came here to check on you”

“So what?! He can go back home already”

“Hey, don’t say such things, talk to him” DongWoo made a pouting face

“I don’t have anything to say to him”

“But Daeyeol has something to say to you”

Everybody looked at Jangjun with eyes as big as full moon, including Daeyeol. 

“Go ahead, DY... You know what you have to do”

“You are crazy!” Daeyeol raised his voice watching his other half taking his brother’s side

“Why did you come here in the first place? You were worried, weren’t you?”

“I came here because y-” he took a quick glance at his brother who was watching Jangjun with his mouth open, just like the others.

“Come on, everybody’s waiting” Jangjun smiled knowing that his boyfriend is way too whipped for him to say no now. He doesn’t like the fact that he’s kind of making his DY do things against his will but it’s a special situation. It’s his brother and they need to clear the air.

DaeYeol snorted and shook his head with a sour smile on his face before he turns to Sungyeol, “Brother… I’m sorry” he mumbled with his eyes everywhere but on the tallest one.

“I’m sorry, too” Sungyeol mumbled to his feet

“Aww that’s so sweet” Sungjong whispers into Hoya’s arm and Sungkyu giggles at the idiocy of these two.

“And, who’s in for a hug?!” JangJun shouted with a grin on his face and everybody raised their hands and voted for the brothers to hug each other which they did a bit reluctantly in the beginning but then Sungyeol grabbed his brother by the nape playfully and shook him and DaeYeol ruffled his hair in return; they played like that for a while and MyungSoo was just standing there with a sinking heart watching JangJun’s beaming face as he cheers loudly and the smile on Daeyeol's face; he doesn’t even wonder anymore why Daeyeol, being encouraged by the other, just did something he promised not to do over his dead body. 

He needed no more proof.

It just turned out naturally that everybody went their own ways. Sungkyu and Woohyun, DongWoo and Hoya, MyungSoo told them he’s going to take the bus even though Sungyeol offered to give him a lift; Daeyeol went with Jangjun as, apparently, Janjgun still hasn’t find his own place. 

Sungyeol watched the other’s back as he walked away; he thought MyungSoo was angry at him since the moment he left with DaeYeol, Sungjong and Hoya after the incident on the court. 

And it was bothering him so much that he couldn’t focus on anything else that evening. He had to make that phonecall. 

“Myungsoo”

“What?”

“Are we good now?”

“Tsk”

“Come on, don’t tsk me, let’s be good, hm?”

“…”

“Look, I’m sorry okay? I shouldn’t have hit him, can we forget about it?”

“Okay”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah”

“But really?”

“Yeah”

“I don’t know, for… for reals?”

“Yes, we are good”

“Wow! Thanks!”

“You’re welcome”

“Myungsoo!”

“Oh?”

“Let’s hang out together!”

“Haha Sungyeol, it’s the middle of the night?”

“So what? Have you got any better things to do?”

“I don’t know, sleeping, maybe?”

“How long are you going to answer my questions with questions?”

“Did I really do that?”

They both laughed 

“So, can I pick you up? Let’s go to the gym!”

“Seoul Thunders’?” 

“Of course! Curious?”

“A little… okay! Let’s do it!”

“Pack your things up! I’ll be at your place in a quarter!”

“Okay”

“Great!”

“It’s almost midnight”

“Training in the middle of the night is refreshing! We could grab a late night snack later!”

“Or an early morning snack heh”

“I know, right?”

“Are you sure it’s okay if you take me there? And your eyebrow...” 

“Of course! No worries. And don’t worry about my eyebrow either, I’m as fit as a fiddle and would have completely forgotten about it if it wasn’t you mentioning it… Okay, I’d better hang up in case you change your mind, see you in a while!”

*

“it feels like doing something inappropriate during teenage days” Myungsoo was grinning and hugging his gym bag watching Sungyeol unlocking the door to the gym

“Pff, but I’ve got the keys, it’s nothing illegal you idiot”

“Says a guy who lost a fight with his younger brother”

“Excuse me? I’d have won with my eyes closed if the boys hadn’t pulled me away”

“What other fables have you got in store for me today erm tonight?” 

“Whatever” Sungyeol left grinning Myungsoo behind, “lock the door behind you”

Soon, Myungsoo was in the changing room walking in on Sungyeol as the other was changing his t-shirt. 

“HA!” he shouted making the other jerk and scream surprised before he turned around 

“What? You wanted me to have a heart attack or something?” 

“I was just amazed by your back” 

“Whatever” Sungyeol tried to keep a straight face but as soon as he turned around he smiled at himself

“Fudge, I forgot my drinking bottle”

“You can use mine, we can share” MyungSoo was tying his laces when Sungyeol patted his but

“Thanks”

“Hey!” Myungsoo immediately straighten up, “You wanna die?” 

“Sorry!” Sungyeol blushed, “We used to do it a lot with my teammates when somebody stuck their butt like that! I haven’t done that in a while since everybody keeps their guard now. I’m sorry!”

“Fine, forgiven. Mainly due to the view because I’ve never seen you blushing like this”

“What?!” Sungyeol hid his cheeks in his hands and watched Myungsoo grinning, ‘I’m not blushing” he regained his composure quickly and grabbed his towel, “let’s get it”

*

“Hey, what’s happened to your feet? Does it hurt? Why didn’t you say anything?”

MyungSoo looked at Sungyeol’s toes all covered up in dressings

Sungyeol looked down at his feet and chuckled, “which question should I answer?”

“Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a little?”

“Oh come on, you’ve seen my feet dozen of times before” Sungyeol rolled his eyes and walked towards the lockers with his hands up asking heavens for mercy.

“I must have not paid much attention to them?” MyungSoo made a sour face, “I feel so bad now... If I had known earlier I wouldn’t have agreed to come here with you”

“Well, but I wanted to see you”

“Yeah, so just to see me, ruin yourself before the match”

“See? You approve so-”

“Geez! I was being sarcastic!”

Sungyeol winked at the other and smiled, “I know”

MyungSoo chuckled, “well, don’t overwork yourself got it? You can come to my place whenever you feel like it, okay? Just don’t do this to yourself”

“It didn’t happen today tho”

“You know what I mean, anyways” Myungsoo took a quick glance at the clock, “It’s before 1 o’clock, let’s assume that your morning training has just finished”

“Try to stop me in the morning”

“Oh don’t worry I will”

“H-how?”

MyungSoo laughed, “Why are you blushing?” 

“I don’t know like isn’t the only way to stop me is to tie me up to something?”

Myungsoo raised his brow “Tie you? To what?” 

“Nothing” Sungyeol turned around and started packing up his things

“Oh come on! What did you have on your mind?”

“Nothing, leave me alone”

“Well, sorry not so sorry but I promised not to do that tonight”

Some time later in Sungyeol’s bedroom:

“...like it should. That’s the way things are....”

“Are you happy, Myungsoo?”

“What kind of a question is that?”

“Just normal? Why? Can’t answer that one?”

“I mean… I can. Of course I can, just tell me first-“

“No, I asked first so you should answer first”

“I know! That’s not what I was going to… hey, don’t think that you know what I think”

“I don’t think that”

“Good”

“I mean I don’t need to think because I know that I know”

“Pffff” Myungsoo hit Sungyeol playfully but the other only ginned, 

“So? Are you or not?”

“It depends… do you mean like in general or now?”

“Is there any difference?”

“Sometimes”

“Okay, are you happy in ge- now, now. Are you happy now?”

Despite his racing heart he tried not to show any signs of anything on his face as he was watching the other smile cutely:

“I am”

“Of course you are! Who wouldn't be? After all, I’m such a great person, so easy to hang out with, and so good-looking”

“And so humble” Myungsoo sat up and shook his head at the other; he couldn’t dodge the pillow thrown at him, “Hey! What’s that for?” 

“You thought I was being serious!”

They looked at each other for a moment. 

“Why can’t you be with Sungjong?”

There was another moment of silence

“Wy are you asking that, out of the blue?”

MyungSoo shrugged his shoulders and was watching Sungyeol attentively to the point that the latter had to look away feeling uncomfortable. He sighed and crossed his arms under his head, “I’ve never really considered it... I guess it’s just… it’s either you feel it or not… Besides, he’s not even my type”

MyungSoo looked as if he got a sudden energy boost, “What’s your type then? Wow, we haven’t talked about it before”

“M-my i-ideal type?”

“Yeah, since like everybody, well almost everybody, ended up together it’s kind of clear what their ideal types are… plus Sungjong, we know that his type is probably somebody like you so…”

Sungyeol started giggling out of the blue

“What? Did I say something wrong?” Myungsoo was watching the other’s face getting red and tears of laughter forming in his eyes, “Hey! What? Tell me” he started shaking Sungyeol’s arm:

“Has anyone ever told you about my date with Jong?”

“No? What does it have to do with your ideal type tho?”

“My ideal type is round”

“Chubby? Eyyy, it’s okay I don’t see anything funny about it”

“No, wait, when we went for our first date-“

“First? Were there any second and third?”

“That’s not relevant”

“Oh come on!”

“Maybe there were”

“Tell me about it!”

“No, wait but the funny thing-“

“How many dates did you go on?”

“Hey! What are you, writing a book about my love life or what?”

“I’m just curious”

“I can’t believe it! Why did I agree to let you sleep over?!”

“Come on, it’s late at night, we’re not sleepy after the workout-”

“Well! You most definitely aren’t sleepy because of being so hyped up by the possible gossip”

“Me? Nah, no way. I don’t even remember what you were talking about a moment ago”

“Good, I’ll be finally able to relax in peace”

Myungsoo fell back onto the pillows and pulled the duvet over him. They were lying just like that, inches from each other and with heavy silence between them. It was literally suffocating. Sungyeol fixed the duvet a few times. And put his hands under his head again. 

“I thought you were going to relax?”

“And who says I’m not?”

It was an obvious lie; both of them felt the unnamed emotions hovering in the air. 

“Tell me” Myungsoo whispered

“Oh, okay” Syungyeol turned to the side and examined the other’s face, “but it’s a question for a question”

“You’ve already asked me if I was happy”

“Damn you, Myung! Fine, ask me”

“How many dates did you two go on?” 

“Two”

“Two? Why two? What happened?” 

“It’s a question for a question. So… what would you like to change in Daeyeol?”

“Nothing”

“Don’t lie!”

MyungSoo laughed. “Okay, so… I’ll tell you about only one thing I’d like to change, okay?”

“Whatever, I can always-“

“You can’t repeat the questions!”

“I hate you”

“Do you want to know the one thing at least or not?”

“Wait wait, actually I’d like to change the question”

MyungSoo crossed his arms and looked at Sungyeol with his head tilted to the side.

“Can I?” the other pleaded

“Well… okay, go ahead” Myungsoo threw his hands in the air

“What would you like to change-”

“Hey! You can’t repeat questions!”

“I know, wait. What would you like to change in me?”

“In you?”

Sungyeol smiled, “yes, yes, me”

“I… N-nothing I guess.”

“Great, thanks!” Sungyeol turned around feeling the hot air balloon growing inside of his chest. MyungSoo’s laughter was adding to the feeling. 

“And that’s it? You’re just going to go to sleep?” 

MyungSoo’s warm hands on his back, and his sweet weight as he leans against Sungyeol playfully but still to make sure everything’s okay, the tension, the night, the scent of MyungSoo’s body was driving him crazy and he had no idea how he remained still while answering: “I suddenly feel tired, and besides, my morning training’s awaiting~”

“I don’t feel like sleeping. I’m gonna go play some games then”

“Sure, sure, night!”

MyungSoo left the room. Actually, playing games was the last thing he felt like doing but his heart was racing and he was worried that Sungyeol might hear it. This is so wrong in so many ways? He just realized (although he was kind of still hoping he was wrong) that Daeyeol and JangJun are something more than friends. He’s not sure how to even start a conversation with DaeYeol about it - because what if, like really, what if he’s mistaken? And now what? He might have some feelings towards DaeYeol’s brother? Wait, hold on. No. No, right? Wouldn’t that make him the most pathetic creature in the world? 

He pours himself a glass of water. “No, MyungSoo such things grow on people for weeks, even months…” he turned around and looked at the door to Sungyeol’s bedroom. “Besides, that would be just crazy. Impossible. What would everybody say? What would they think of me? AND, most importantly, Sungyeol’s not even interested in me… Seriously, Myungsoo how would you even get to such conclusions, stop dreaming”

He put the glass on the counter and moved towards the sofa.

Suddenly he thought that maybe there was one thing he’d like to change in his friend. The title. Boyfriend would sound so much better. 

He hit himself on the head a few times to get rid of the idea.


	21. the unavoidable collision

Sungyeol’s thinking: 

What did Myungsoo do in his previous life that he’s struggling so much right now? Who came up with such a plan for him? Hasn’t there been enough misfortune in his life? And that idiot, Daeyeol hasn’t got the slightest idea how all his doings make Myungsoo feel and, he refuses to do a single stroke of anything to make the situation any better! 

And he should, for the reason alone that Myungsoo is such a nice guy, do anything to at least pretend that he’s trying. But no. He couldn’t care less. And Myungsoo just doesn’t deserve to be treated this way. He has the right to be happy just like everybody else does. And Daeyeol must have forgotten about the world around him because of that Jangjun, but that’s not an excuse! 

“Life is so unfair” 

He goes to contacts and dials the number of the pathetic moron who happens to be his closest relative. He sighs. 

“Bro? What’s up?”

Sungyeol moves the phone away from his ear as a sudden laugh outburst pierces his ear.

“I see that you’re having fun”

“Yeah, Jangjun’s been looking for his phone for some time now… it’s just a detail that he’s searching for it under the bed while using the flashlight from his very own phone”

Sungyeol heard Jangjun’s screams due to sudden realisation and Daeyeol laughed some more and pleaded the other not to hit him to which Jangjun replied that he’d hit him with his lips and warned the other to get ready and more or less that was the moment when Sungyeol couldn’t take it anymore, “bye” he said and ended the call. 

Next thing he knew, he was putting on his hoodie while going through the door. 

***

It’s been a while since he pressed the doorbell but nobody responded. The silence made him fully realise that he’s standing in front of the door to Myungsoo’s flat. The longer he waited, the more disappointed he got – why would he expect Myungsoo to stay in tonight? It’s the first warm evening after all the snow had melted down and Myungsoo will take his cat for a walk from time to time. 

Darn, he could’ve called the other to ask if he’s at home or if he likes any company tonight. On the other hand, it’s nice that he doesn’t stay in and overthink his relationship. Is it possible that Sungyeol is the only one to worry about the said relationship? 

He was already taking the stairs down when he heard the lock clicking, which made him hold dead in his trucks.

“Byeol! Come here!”

The cat was already nuzzling it’s head into Sungyeol’s calves – an action which made the man flash his gums in a smile as he picked the fluffy pet up. 

“Sungyeol? What are you doing here at this hour? I thought I was dreaming that somebody was at the door”

“Oh?” Sungyeol looked at his watch and shook his head in surprise – it’s few minutes past midnight. Already? How’s that possible? Maybe he’s the one who’s dreaming right now, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know it’s so late…”

“What are you doing here? Has anything happened?”

Myungsoo took the cat from Sungyeol’s arms and moved away to let Sungyeol inside, then he closed the door behind. He let the cat go wherever it wanted and was watching his guest with sleepy eyes when a yawn escaped his mouth. He smiled at his friend encouragingly seeing that Sungyeol was getting uneasy with explanations.

“I…I…was worrying about you. And… here I am to make sure that everything is fine, I know it sounds strange, but… yeah”

Myungsoo’s snort made Sungyeol’s arms tense up uncomfortably. It felt strange.

“You know that you can always tell me if there’s something bothering you. Don’t need to be embarrassed, you know. It’s written all over your face that something’s bothering you - what is it?” MyungSoo was watching his guest trying to cover the fact that his lips quivered by rubbing his eye and stretching his back a little. “So?”

The moment of silence between them felt thick and heavy on their chests. 

“Oh… okay, fine”

He doesn’t know what got into him when he cupped Myungsoo’s face to frantically crush his lips against the other’s a moment later. His elbows absorbed the impact with a loud thump before Myungsoo’s back hit the front door making him confined between the hard surface behind him and Sungyeol’s sturdy body pressing forward on him from the front. 

Myungsoo’s hands clenching on his hair at the back of his head was more than enough for Sungyeol to finally convince himself that what he’s been feeling towards the other wasn’t a mere guilt. The lips tasted so well and kissing it felt as natural as if he’d been doing it all his life. 

When he broke the liplock, still cupping Myungsoo’s face, their foreheads brushing, the words just naturally popped out of his mouth:

“I don’t really want to go anywhere… I came here because I need you”

WIthout waiting for a response he let their lips meet again. 

Myungsoo reached his arm to feel the lock on the door before he turned it and his hand made its way back to the man in front of him. He’s fully awake now - actually as much as he’s able to think about anything right now, he’s wondering if, by chance, he hadn’t been sleeping for all these past years. 

Sungyeol pulled the rim of Myungsoo’s T-shirt up the other’s back, “I can’t fight it any longer”

He watches Myungsoo nod his consent with a sheepish smile. His hair gets so ruffled after his head appears from under the t-shirt and Myungsoo can’t help it when a warm smile creeps into his face because Sungyeol looks so cute right now. Besides, he looks so flustered right now as if he forgot that it’s not the first time he’s undressed in front of Myungsoo. That’s why the latter quickly follows and his own t-shirt flung across the hall moments before the lovers’ lips unite again.

Myungsoo’s body responds with shivers and goosebumps under Sungyeol’s breath, which both flatters the other and encourages bolder caress to come into play. 

When Myungsoo attempts to undo the other’s trousers, Sungyeol’s body flinches involuntarily and they both allow their eyes to meet in a silent understanding. There’s still time to go back if they are going to regret anything later. Both of them, however, don’t feel like doing anything but making love to each other right now and whether it was out of pure desire or true feelings of love was a secondary matter. There’s no knowing what’s going to happen later. The only sure thing is that what they’re about to do right now will forever have an impact on their relationship. But they couldn’t care less. 

Sungyeol gulped and pulled Myungsoo’s sweatpants down, too. He stepped on it to help the other get free from the legs and pushed Myungsoo up against the door surprised at his own baldness even more since he has never been with a man before. Will he embarrass himself? It’s not that he doesn’t know how things are supposed to work... It’s just so unexpected, he should’ve read about it, ask Sungkyu or Woohyun or…

His confusion didn’t pass unnoticed by the other, especially because Myungsoo wouldn’t let his eyes skip a thing out of Sungyeol’s wonderful face. And Sungyeol was so predictable. Myungsoo could read him like an open book, “come on, fill me up with your awesomeness, don’t make me wait.” He failed to keep a straight face and grinned at the other.

Sungyeol snorted and wished he could hide somewhere right now but he wasn’t even able to cover his face as his arms were busy holding Myungsoo up. He feels Myungsoo’s cold fingers on his face and allows himself to be pulled in for a kiss. Myungsoo supports himself on Sungyeol’s shoulders enabling the other to use his hands to place himself at the right spot before he drifts into the other. 

His muscles beg for a break but he can’t let that happen. His forehead gets wet and so does the skin on his stomach as it’s been covered with Myungsoo’s arousal fluids. And it hasn’t been long since he entered him and he’s already struggling not to explode and when Myungsoo lets out that throaty, unimaginably hot moan Sungyeol loses it and isn’t able to control anything as he finishes way faster that he’d wish for…

“I’m…sorry”

A river of shame went over him and he begs the world to help him right now, like, there could be an earthquake or alien invasion or anything to distract them from this shameful moment! He’s too embarrassed to look the other in the eye now, god dammit, he’s going to join a monastery and never ever touch anybody again ugh this memory is surely going to flash in front of his eyes on his deathbed.

He feels Myungsoo pressing his cold finger on the spot between his eyebrows and he realises he’s scrunching. He tries to loosen his face a little, “Myungsoo…”

“I didn’t know you’re this… kinky”

Sungyeol’s eyes flew open. Is there something he missed?

“You gave me a pre-taste of what you’re able to and didn’t let me finish on purpose so that I’d be begging you to do me?” he tsked and squinted his eyes, “so dirty.”

“You…really…?” he put Myungsoo down and was watching him while tilting his head to different angles as if that would help him read the other better.

“Sungyeol~” Myungsoo placed his finger on his lips playing innocent, “will you stay over and make me…feel…loved?”

The tall snickered.

“I take it as yes” MyungSoo winked

“Myungsoo…” he walked up and let his hands rest on the younger’s arms, “I will…try” he cracked and dodged a slap that Myungsoo was about to serve him on the arm. 

“Now, go to bed!” a smile crept on Myungsoo’s face

“Weren’t you supposed to beg? Is that how you’re begging?” 

“Please” 

Myungsoo was darting his finger at Sungyeol’s stomach to mess with him playfully but the other was faster and grabbed Myungsoo by the wrist before he managed to reach his stomach, “after you”

Myungsoo pulled the other towards his bedroom but only after a few steps he jerked and turned around outraged and massaged his buttcheek after a sudden pinch, “Hey!”

Sungyeol shrugged his shoulders and smiled with an innocent face, “I just couldn’t feast my eyes on the sight, you know”

“I do, it’s not that I haven’t heard it before”

“Leave Daeyeol, will you?”

“Let’s not talk about it now”

“Just promise and I’m zipping my lip”

“I’m not going to promise you anything except for the fact that you won’t sleep a wink tonight”

“Since when have you become so full of yourself?”

“Since the moment I saw you at my door tonight”

Myungsoo plunked down on his bed and turned on the night lamp; it was a pitch-black night tonight as if the world wanted to help him cover up the fact that he’s cheating on his partner. But to be honest, he’s not feeling that much of a guilt; they have already drifted apart a long time ago…

It’s the first time Sungyeol’s been to Myungsoo’s room; the amount of books and comic books was impressive for such a small place. Even in the dim light Sungyeol noticed a few photos fixed onto the wall and his heart sank at the sight of Myungsoo and Daeyeol’s smiling faces in them. When did they go to the Lotte World? Or the ice-skating rink? How did Myungsoo manage to capture Daeyeol’s side profile so well and made his brother look so strangely alluring? 

Being so lost in thought he leaned against the revolving chair and came round because of the mounting pile of clothes. 

“Oh?” he lifted his own sweatshirt that he’s been looking for for some time now. He turned to Myungsoo with his eyes wide open and watched the other shrug his shoulders innocently.

“You lent it to me back then before Hoya’s performance”

Sungyeol laughed, “and it just happens to sit here on this pile of…of… clothes that other people lent you?”

“Ah”, Myungsoo laughed nervously, “of course not! Let’s say I deemed it suited me better than you”

“You know what I think?”

Myungsoo squinted his eyes and pursed his lips, “That I look best wearing no clothes?” he leaned back watching the other triumphantly who was busy picking up his jaw from the floor.

“How did you know?”

“I just knew”

“Wait, seriously, is that what’s there in your eyes?”

“What about my eyes?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for sme time now and it just must be it! You’ve got a scanner there!”

Myungsoo had to clap his thigh a few times to recover from his laughing seizure, “You’re an idiot!”

“Pff! You’re calling me names now to distract me! Of course, you’d do anything now just not to admit the truth! You think I’m stupid?”

“I don’t know what I should think right now”

Sungyeol sat next to the other; Myungsoo’s thigh against his own made him feel strangely turned on, “you, too, can tell me anything, you know?”

“Is that some sort of a cue?” Myungsoo grinned as he couldn’t miss Sungyeol’s hard-on, “…first, I told you that and we ended up making out and this time….” He giggles

“I guess so. So there’s something I want to tell you...” Sungyeol grins which makes him hard pressed to kiss the other. Luckily, Myungsoo’s grinning, too.

But moments later, they found themselves in their own bubble, perfectly secluded from the surrounding world. 

***

“Dae, what’s bothering you? Why aren’t you sleeping? Come on, it’s the middle of the night. You’ve been tossing and turning and it’s driving me mad”

“Don’t you think I overdid it a little? Avoiding Myungsoo?”

“What? DY, it’s the middle of the night! YOU ARE MAKING ME FEEL JEALOUS!” Jangjun jumped on top of his secret boyfriend, as he called it, and started shaking the other dramatically.

“You don’t understand, I’ve endured for such a long time and there’s this little left to go, it’d be a pity if he breaks up with me now, when I’m so close to beating Sungyeol”

“Actually, it’d be great. I want to marry you as soon as you guys break up”

Daeyeol giggled and caressed his lover’s back, “You are impossible”

“We’re getting married and going on honeymoon to Jeju”

“Jeju? Why? People go to Europe, America, to Australia...”

“I just don’t want to waste much time getting there” Jangjun smiled, “I want to be with you without thinking about bets, about Myungsoo and what have you. I want to be with you officially and there’s nothing more one can do to make their relationship more official than to marry”

“I might not have enough time for honeymoon though”

“Watch me kick all your patients in their asses!”

“Okay, I’ll call off all the appointments for you, for as long as you want to. And I’ll marry you as soon as possible.”

“But?”

“What but?”

“I don’t know, you tell me. Something’s fishy”

“I mean it, you dummy! Jangjun the lame detective”

“Do you remember the Master’s sun? When the girl lost her power to see ghosts as soon as she was close to the one who was destined to her?”

“And you’re trying to say that next to me, you lose your mind and just…get stupid? Ah, and I thought you were just born this way”

“No, you idiot. I was thinking of going back to law school”

“You did?”

“Yeah, they told me that I can continue after I take summer classes so that they can make sure I don’t fall behind with the material I had covered during the first two years and a half”

“And when were you going to tell me?”

“After we come back from our honeymoon” Jangjun squeezed Daeyeol’s cheeks lovingly, “I can’t wait”

“So basically we skipped the proposal part and stuff and we’re getting married”

“I knew it’s going to happen in the end so the proposal wouldn’t surprise me”

“To be honest, it didn’t surprise me either”

“That’s good. At least you won’t toss and turn out of excitement for the rest of the night”

***

They shifted under the sheets again and now it’s Myungsoo who’s gained control this time. There’s this burning sensation in his muscles as he’s riding the other but his lover’s wonderfully flushed face and wet, messy hair make up for the inconvenience. He notices Sungyeol lifting his head up and so he leans in to close the gap between them. The way Sungyeol’s sucking at his lower lip drives him crazy and on top of that the other starts thrusting his hips up in perfect synch to Myungsoo’s path to the finale.

Suddenly, they both flicker at the sudden melody outburst. Myungsoo jerks the sheet back and they both wince at the sudden daylight.

“It’s morning already…?”

“I’ll turn it off in a while, we have a conversation to finish here”

Myungsoo grins at Sungyeol who’s showing his gummy smile too and they reach a mutual climax before the alarm bursts out for the second time. 

“I don’t want to go” Sungyeol hugs Myungsoo as soon as the other lands next to him, “there's a match later today, are you going to come?”

“Ah, I’ve come so many times already, I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle it one more time”

“Funny ha ha, haven’t you got a shift in the café?” Sungyeol watched Myungsoo jolt up, “why, did you forget about your work?”

“I did!” Myungsoo grinned, “but there's still some time before I start”

“Ah it’s a pity… I wanted to say that we could totally save time if we had taken a shower together” Sungyeol was finger-walking on Myungsoo’s milky thigh, “I think I understand Sungkyu and Woohyun now… And Hoya and Dongwoo, too”

Myungsoo tilted his head curiously watching the other and his fingers. “We could still shower together, you know” he couldn’t help but smile at the way Sungyeol’s eyes darted at him, so warm and buzzing like a child who’s about to open the biggest present box under a Christmas Tree, “come on”

They showered their bodies with kisses under the stream of lukewarm water. Myungsoo couldn’t remember when was the last time he spent the night with someone as handsy as Sungyeol and he was having a whale of a time. Sungyeol noticed that Myungsoo’s stare underwent a positive change and he couldn’t find a hint of that old, strangely nostalgic feel in it. They shared their fluffy time together making funny hairstyles with the shampoo foam and scrubbing each other’s back or saving each other’s lives while the other slipped. 

Sungyeol gave Myungsoo a ride to work and dropped by for morning coffee to takeaway.

“Thanks, I’ll need this today” he immediately took a sip of the hot brew, “what would you like to have for breakfast?”

“B-but my shift has just started, what breakfast? I mean, I’m sorry I didn’t make anything but I lost track of time..” he looked around and lowered his voice, “…in the shower”.

“Don’t worry about it, I’ll bring something for you and be off to the gym. So what do you fancy eating, hm?”

Myungsoo tapped his lips energetically while thinking before he answered, “you” and grinned.

“Myungsoo” Sungyeol grinned but then his face turned serious, “if you don’t choose now, I’ll get you something of my choice”

“Ox bone soup”

“Ah, I see. But can I get it somewhere in the neighbourhood?”

“Sure, it’s not more than a block away”

“Really? Where?”

Myungsoo sighed and pulled Sungyeol by the hand closer to the window so that he could explain to him the way properly, “Can you see that purple shopfront?”

“Which one?” Sungyeol was pretending he couldn't see an obvious purple sign which was the biggest neon within 400 meters radius and so he moved closer so that their cheeks meet. And Myungsoo only rolled his eyes as he understood that Sungyeol’s been pulling his leg only to gain little skinship.

“Go, you moron” he pushed the taller one from the shop grinning and shaking his head before he turned around and walked up to the counter still smiling at himself like mad. 

But what about Daeyeol now? Can you call it cheating when there’s nothing between them anymore and sleeping with Sungyeol was like letting Daeyeol taste his own medicine? It would be, if Daeyeol found out. But even if he did, he probably couldn’t care less.

But then… Did Myungsoo do it out of revenge for Daeyeol who wouldn’t even know about it? 

That’s irrational.

Did he do it because he just needed somebody?

Or did he need only Sungyeol?

But Sungyeol as in Sungeol or Sungyeol because he resembles Daeyeol?

Does he even resemble Daeyeol? 

In bed? Hell, no.

His insides go fangirling at the flashbacks from yesterday’s night.

So, was it pure desire or maybe there’s something more that pushed him into spending the night with Yeol?

And Sungyeol even went to fetch him breakfast – he didn’t have to do that. Does it mean that he cares or that he just did it out of courtesy? 

He flinched at somebody suddenly calling his name. It’s Sungyeol. Wow already? Muyngsoo assumed he must have lost the track of time. The uncomfortable bubble that had been bloating in his chest popped as soon as he saw Sungyeol’s beaming face. He couldn’t help but smile back before he accepted the bag with his breakfast. “Will you be alright?” he blurted out as, feeling sand under his own eyelids, he watched the other's tired eyes.

“Yeah” he nods and his lips quiver, “Actually…”

Myungsoo shot his eyes back up again hungry for the other’s words, “yes?”

“Ah, nothing, nothing” he scratched his nape and smiled shyly, “I better get going now… bye!” he shot his hand up before rushing out. 

Myungsoo shook his head and broke into a smile. Next moment he was chuckling as Sungyeol rushed back into the café just to announce that he’s going to miss the other 

Dear Lord, he just spent a wild night with Myungsoo and now he’s ashamed of saying that he’s going to miss him. Ah, that’s so cheesy it makes him cringe. But then he grins. Because it felt nice. And the way Myungsoo showed him some teeth when he said it, damn, it makes him want to fly. 

*** 

Two seconds remaining and will he score? Okay time’s up! He throws it and… he made it! The ball’s there! Like a bird coming back to its mama’s nest !That was so natural! God help us all! He did it giving Seoul Thunders a 109-107 win with a total of 73 points shot by himself, Lee Sungyeol has turned into a superhuman overnight! What did they feed him with? Seoul Thunders won 109-107 against Ulsan tonight! Dear lord, Ulsanners must hate Sungyeol as sin! Haha! Anyways, thank you all for witnessing tonight’s one and only one-man show by Lee Sungyeol! It’s Kim MinSeok, goodnight! If you’ll be able to sleep a wink after what we’ve witnessed tonight! See you on Monday when Incheon Electroland Elephants are playing an away game against Jeonju KCC Egis! 

“If things continue to go this way I might run out of space in my diary!”

“When are you going to let me read it?” Dongwoo laughed, “there shouldn’t be any secretes between us you know”

“You mean, among us, right?” Woohyun interrupted, “there are no secrets among friends, too right?”

MyungSoo tried so hard to keep his yawn in but failed and accidentally focused everybody’s attention on himself.

“Do we bore you, kiddo?”

“Aren’t you at least a bit interested in what dark and dirty secrets Hoya’s diary holds?

“I’m sorry guys,” he yawns again, “I just had problems sleeping tonight”

“Eyyy, Daeyeollie, I bet it’s all your fault, you powerhouse!” Hoya ruffled the youngest’s hair.

“No. Daeyeol wasn’t with me tonight” Myungsoo watched Hoya’s grin fade away, “it’s… my cat! She decided to make herself a bouncing party on my bed and when I locked her out she meowed like mad” His heart was beating like crazy and he was sure nobody believed his story but then Daeyeol saved the day by authenticating Myungsoo’s lie.

“I can’t really put up with that cat! That’s the reason I prefer to spend time at my place”

“I like the catto tho, she’s cute” SungJong interrupted

“She’s my daughter”Myungsoo smiled proudly 

“I didn’t know we had a daughter” Daeyeol was examining his fingernails matter-off-factly completely ignoring Myungsoo’s scoff following right after:

“Because it’s only mine” 

“And Sungyeol even bought the litter box and the scratching post”

“You guys are so different, yet so similar” Sungkyu was about to elaborate on the differences when SungJong interrupted:

“Speak of the devil”

And they turned their heads like sunflowers turn towards the sun to get nearly blinded by the joy beaming from their friend’s haggard (due to lack of sleep and exhausting day) face. 

“Did you take drugs?”

Sungyeol laughed, “You don’t believe in my abilities?”

“I’ve never seen you so hyped up on the court”

“But it must have drained you as hell, you look so tired”

“It’s because of Myungsoo-” Sungyeol puffed his chest up and Myungsoo got a choking seizure as he couldn’t believe his ears – what was he thinking to say such things?

“Myungsoo are you okay?” Hoya and DaeYeol looked at the coughing one as if he was an alien.

“…and the coffee he made for me this morning” Sungyeol finished grinning and only then was Myungsoo able to cough out that he must have accidentally choked on saliva and assured the rest he’s fine while rubbing his eye. 

Sungyeol winked at Myungsoo playfully when he thought nobody was watching, and when the other sent him a secret half-smile there’s only one thing in his mind back then, well okay, maybe two – kissing Myungsoo again and having him in his arms. Maybe he should ask him out tomorrow?

But there’s always somebody watching him, there are always eyes on him. 

Sungkyu squinted his already narrow eyes and glanced from Myungsoo to Sungyeol. Then he looked at Woohyun, who was prattling happily with the rest of the boys. Sungkyu felt that, of course, he could be mistaken, however, if you asked him something was feeling off. He’s no fool, he’s known Sungyeol for too long now and he doesn’t remember a similar situation when there’s something invisible gushing from him in large quantities. He could literally feel it. What’s happened? Sungyeol would tell him about everything, wouldn’t he? It’s impossible that they got drifted apart after he started hanging out with Woohyun some more?

“...Right, Gramps?”

“What?” Sungkyu shook his head to come round and, pretending that he’s been following everything, he nodded his head and forced a laugh to go along with the rest.

Sungyeol would never have dared to think that such a thought would cross his mind, especially after not spending enough quality time with his friends recently, but, he wished they’d go home for tonight; he wants to sleep, he wants to cling to Myungsoo with all his might, too and even though the other is at hand, he can’t cuddle up with him which adds up to his frustration. 

“Did you enjoy the breakfast?” he asks casually while on the inside his heart and stomach are performing advanced acrobatics. 

“I did. Thanks. Rice has never tasted better”

“You could’ve bragged about it on sns, you know. And the caption… when Sungyeol buys you meal” Sungyeol drew a horizontal line in the air with his open palm, “and then” he grins and opens his mouth to finish but Myungsoo got in to finish for him:

“…hashtag prestige”

And they both giggled like mad; Sungyeol reached his hand to tap Myungsoo’s arm and it felt so electrifying to know that there’s the secret that only the two share. He forgot about Daeyeol, although he thinks Myungsoo had never clearly stated what his feelings towards Sungyeol’s brother are, it felt as if Myungsoo only was the single and the whole element that he’s been missing in his life. 

“What are you two up to, huh? Sungyeol, don’t you think you get too close to my boyfriend recently?” Daeyeol walked up to the two and swung his arm around Myungsoo, pulling him closer, to Sungyeol’s utter displeasure.

“Oh, what made you forget about your friend Jangjun and suddenly remember about everything else?”

“Sungyeol, really” taught by the past events and foresightful of what might happen, Sungkyu was there in no time placing his hand on Sungyeol’s arm.

“Jangjun is working his way back to the university. And you shouldn’t clench your teeth so much, it’s unhealthy”

“Guys, what’s wrong with the both of you?” Sungjong was at the spot, too. 

“Sungyeol’s having fun with my boyfriend and he’s jealous that we.are.leaving.”

Everybody, including Myungsoo, bolted their eyes at the younger brother who was already on his feet ready to leave, “Come on, Myungsoo”

“But I’m not going anywhere”

This time everybody’s eyes darted to Myungsoo just to jump back at Daeyeol again.

“Haven’t you got a cat to feed? I can give you a lift home”

“He said he’s not going so snap out of it” Sungyeol was already on his feet too eyeing his brother.

“Wait! Stop!” Myungsoo got up and pushed the two away from each other, “both of you! Daeyeol, I’m not leaving yet, so don’t make me go and Sungyeol, I can really take care of myself you don’t have to put up a fight with your own brother”

“Bravo, Myungsoo!”

“Yeah! And shame on you, Yeol brothers for spoiling the atmosphere!”

“Like, don’t you have anything to say right now?”

“Actually, there’s something I wanted to say…” Sungyeol started and flashed a glance at Myungsoo whose expression turned from stiff into being on the verge of bursting out laughing.

“...cue!” he mouthed and both of them cracked up leaving the rest totally dumbfounded.


End file.
